Free speech in France?

France has banned all demonstrations against the Mohamed cartoons published in the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo.  Here's Reuters:

By Brian Love

PARIS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - France confirmed on Friday it would allow no street protests against cartoons denigrating Islam's Prophet Mohammad that were published by a French magazine this week.

Interior Minister Manuel Valls said prefects throughout the country had orders to prohibit any protest over the issue and to crack down if the ban was challenged.

"There will be strictly no exceptions. Demonstrations will be banned and broken up," he told a news conference in the southern port city of Marseille.

This is a bizarre and hypocritical response given the free speech arguments used by defenders of Charlie Hebdo.