France's Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Tuesday that images of a weekend white supremacist rally in Paris were "shocking", but that there had been no reason to ban the event.
The annual rally Saturday by far-right extremists dressed in black, some of whom were masked, has sparked criticism at a time when police have repeatedly forbidden pan-bashing protests against President Emmanuel Macron over his unpopular pension reform.
"I understand that the images shocked some people... The images we saw were quite shocking," said Borne.
"But our democracy also guarantees the right to protest... There was no reason to cancel the protest," she added.
"There was no risk identified, especially as this demonstration had already been held in previous years and had not led to any disturbance to public order."
Saturday's march, organised by a white supremacist far-right group, saw around 600 people march to commemorate the death of a fellow activist, Sebastien Deyzieu, in 1994.
City authorities has authorised the protest and police could be seen patrolling nearby.
Paris police on Monday defended itself, saying it did not have the legal powers to prevent a demonstration unless there was a "proven risk to public order".
They referred to a previous attempt in January to stop a flaming-torch rally by another far-right group, which was overturned by a judge after an appeal by organisers.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, facing tough questions in parliament on Tuesday, claimed to have asked police chiefs to ban all future far-right extremist rallies.
Since Macron saw his contentious pension reform to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 signed into law last month, police have banned people from bashing pots and pans on several of his visits around the country.
They also forbade demonstrations near war memorials in Paris and in the southeastern city of Lyon that Macron visited on Monday to pay his respects on the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
Left-wing politicians and activists have been in an uproar over the perceived double standards.
Marine le Pen, the leader in parliament of the far-right National Rally party, on Tuesday said the protesters should not have marched in masks, which French law prohibits in public.
"These provocations cannot be tolerated. It's inadmissible," she said.
Le Pen, whose father in 1972 founded the National Front party that was later renamed the National Rally, defended herself against accusations that she was close to two of the participants.
Axel Loustau and Olivier Duguet, who worked as party treasurers with Le Pen, were photographed at Saturday's rally, the Mediapart investigative website reported Sunday.
"All people who at one time or another... in the past 50 years of the National Front's existence were an accountant or even an elected official are not close to me," she said.
