Tens of thousands of protesters flocked to Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday to express their anger against Egyptian President Mohammed Morsis controversial decree. Clashes broke out between youths and police on the fringes of the demonstration.
By FRANCE 24 (text)
Tens of thousands packed Tahrir Square on Tuesday to protest a power grab by Mohammed Morsi, piling pressure on Egypt's Islamist president as he faces his most divisive crisis since taking power in June.
According to medical staff at the scene one protester died after inhaling tear gas during clashes with police.
The huge turnout in the iconic square in the heart of Cairo, as well as in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and most of Egypt's 27 provinces, marked the largest mobilisation yet against the president.
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Throughout the afternoon and into the evening, marches poured into Tahrir Square waving Egypts red, white and black flags, creating an electrifying atmosphere.
FRANCE24s Cairo correspondent Alex Turnbulll reporting from Tahrir said the protest was the biggest the Egyptian capital had seen since last Junes presidential elections.
There are thousands, maybe even tens of thousands here in the square chanting Morsi leave now, Turnbull said.
There have been clashes just off Tahrir Square between groups of youths and the police, who have fired dozens of tear gas canisters.
Morsi is not for the revolution
The protesters are angry at the decree that Morsi announced last Thursday allowing him to "issue any decision or law that is final and not subject to appeal", which effectively placed him beyond judicial oversight.
The decree put him on a collision course with the judiciary and consolidated Egypts long-divided opposition which accuses him of taking on dictatorial powers and raises concerns that the Islamists will be further ensconced in power.
"I'm here to protest Morsi's autocratic decisions," said Mohammed Rashwan, an engineering graduate who voted for Morsi in the country's first presidential election since a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.
"I have discovered that he is pro-Muslim Brotherhood and not the revolution," Rashwan told AFP from the packed square.
One banner in Tahrir read "The Muslim Brotherhood stole the revolution".
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Tuesdays demonstrations come a day after Morsi stuck by his decree after a meeting with the country's top judges aimed at defusing the crisis that has sparked deadly clashes and prompted judges and journalists to call for strike.
"The solution is to cancel the constitutional declaration... We won't replace a dictator with another," said Asser Ayub, 23, waving an Egyptian flag.
Rallies held across the country
In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, thousands gathered in Qait Ibrahim square. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood, on whose ticket Morsi ran for office, staged their own rival rally in Alexandria, but marched away after a few hours without any confrontations.
"Down with the rule of the Supreme Guide," the protesters chanted, in reference to the head of the powerful Islamist group, a chant echoed in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where hundreds took to the streets.
Demonstrations were also staged in the Nile Delta cities of Mansura, Tanta and in the central provinces of Assiut, Sohag and Minya.
There were also clashes between supporters and opponents of Morsi in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla.
A security official told AFP that both sides threw stones as the anti-Morsi protesters tried to storm the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party.
The Islamist FJP party said on its website that 80 of its followers were injured in the clashes, and accused police of ignoring requests to intervene.
A rival rally in Cairo by the Muslim Brotherhood in support of the president was called off to "avoid potential unrest" but that has done little to abate the division among supporters and foes of Morsi.
(FRANCE24 with wires)
