Banned on French soil, certain pro-Palestinian demonstrations still take place in France. Gatherings are also taking place elsewhere in Europe, in England and Switzerland. In Geneva, almost 6,000 people walked the streets behind the “Liberate Palestine” banner. Since last Saturday, the ferocity of Hamas’s surprise attack in Israel had focused much of the attention on the fate of the Israelis killed or captured. But the Jewish state’s response and the situation in Gaza have brought many pro-Palestinian supporters to the streets.
“What you call self-defense is actually genocide,” read signs in Geneva, between “End Apartheid,” “Boycott Israel” and “Save the Children of Gaza.” Further west, thousands of demonstrators defied the ban. On Thursday evening, around 3,000 people marched in Paris before they were dispersed with tear gas.
Although prohibited by an order issued by Police Prefect Laurent Nuñez on Friday, October 13, a pro-Palestinian rally took place again this Saturday afternoon in the Place de la République between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. A static demonstration organized “in support of the resistance of the Palestinian people.” Police arrested 19 people (including the organizer) and imposed 752 fines on participants. At 5:30 p.m., police headquarters said the demonstration had been dispersed and enforcement efforts were continuing.
Events approved in London and Copenhagen
In order to make these French gatherings legal, an appeal was also lodged with the Council of State on Saturday. He is calling for the suspension of the ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations ordered by the Interior Minister on Thursday. “A general and absolute ban completely disregards several public freedoms, including the right to demonstrate. “It is part of a context of politicization of public order in which the state should guarantee all expressions of solidarity,” Maître Vincent Brengarth, one of the lawyers of the Comité Action Palestine association, told AFP.
In London, demonstrators were allowed to walk. But police were on guard – more than 1,000 officers were deployed – and had warned that they would arrest anyone showing support for Hamas. Thousands of pro-Palestinians gathered in the English capital, but other cities in the United Kingdom also hosted gatherings, such as Manchester and Edinburgh.
“They are experiencing a catastrophe,” denounced Belal Stitan, a 22-year-old student whose relatives are suffering under the blockade in the Gaza Strip. No food, no water. I talk to them, I hear their voices, their dry mouths, their hope that is gradually fading. » The author of the call for the demonstration in London, Ben Jamal, wanted to send a message to the British political class. The one “who gives Israel the green light to commit war crimes,” said the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
The red, black, white and green standards were also available in Copenhagen. According to a Voxmeter poll published by the Ritzau agency, 20% of Danes believe that Palestinians have the right to defend themselves against Israel, for example with an attack like the one carried out by Hamas last Saturday. While 41% disagreed with this statement, nearly a thousand demonstrators marched to Town Hall Square in the Danish capital.
Police surveillance was strict there too. “A genocide is taking place,” read signs. The conflict in the Middle East continues to divide opinions in Europe and around the world.