Several hundred people demonstrated Thursday evening in Saint-Denis near Paris to ask France to say “stop the genocide” in Gaza, before the France-Israel match at the Stade de France, noted an AFP journalist.
The slogan of the rally was “we don’t play with genocide”the same day a special UN committee concluded that Israel’s methods of warfare in the Gaza Strip “correspond to the characteristics of a genocide”.
Wearing the tricolor scarf, LFI MP Eric Coquerel told a few hundred demonstrators gathered on the Place du Front populaire in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), two hours before the start of the meeting: “It’s a second-rate match but, rarely, (we announce) the presence of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior, two former presidents. How do you expect (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu to not hear ‘you can continue the genocide’? »
“France is looking elsewhere or more precisely it is watching a France-Israel match”added Mr. Coquerel, who however considered that“a first boycott is successful since there are less than 20,000 registered” to attend this match.
Among the demonstrators, Mohamed, a 26-year-old lawyer who did not wish to give his name, judges that “the problem this evening is that the president (Emmanuel Macron) comes to support a clearly genocidal Israeli government, he should have abstained (from attending the match), condemned Israel and called for sanctions , it’s the least we can do”.
“What shocks us is the lack of reaction from Western governments, the impunity from which Israel benefits”said another demonstrator, Sébastien Wildmann, a 48-year-old caregiver, member of the Gaza White Coats collective, denouncing the bombing of a hospital or a refugee camp.
In the name of Emergency Palestine, which called for demonstrations, Neva Bekhtari launched into the microphone: “Our objective is to denounce Israel’s impunity (…) welcomed with open arms in France, even if thanks to our pressure, the Israeli Finance Minister (Bezabel Smotrich) ultimately did not come” in Paris on Wednesday to take part in a controversial gala in support of Israel, which was held at a secret location in the capital.
After the demonstration was dispersed, part of the procession wanted to leave towards the stadium but 100 meters further, a line of helmeted police officers awaited them.
Dissuaded by the impressive police force, several dozen demonstrators, especially young people, turned back.
In Lyon, around 500 gathered for a torchlight march that took off. “It’s not that nothing is being done, it’s that those in power are letting it happen”lamented Farid, a 59-year-old from Lyon.
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