The demonstration was held in front of a BNP Paribas agency, at the call of the France-Palestine Solidarity Association (AFPS) which was joined by the local Attac committees. The AFPS accuses “several French banks” of supporting the Israeli offensive “by raising funds from these banks to the Israeli state, not directly to the state but to Israeli banks or investment companies in the settlements and also to the Israeli army.”
At the end of October, activists from the Action Justice Climat association had already carried out a series of actions against Parisian branches of BNP Paribas to urge the bank to “put an end to its activities linked to the State of Israel”. according to a press release from the NGO.
“Neither financed nor invested”
According to Action Justice Climat, the leading French bank has “committed $2 billion to a bond issue by the State of Israel”. The actual issuance took place in March 2024, according to data from the financial agency Bloomberg.
“We neither financed nor invested” in this operation, BNP Paribas reacted, specifying that it had participated as an intermediary, alongside three other international banks. “It is defamatory to assert that BNP Paribas is financing this conflict in any way,” the bank continued, announcing that it had “immediately filed a complaint” following these “acts of vandalism.”
In Lille, activists unfurled a large Palestinian flag, and placed numerous pairs of shoes, to remember the victims, particularly children, who died in Gaza in the war led by Israel in response to the unprecedented deadly attack launched by the Hamas on October 7, 2023.
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