Students blocked access to Paris' prestigious Sciences Po University over the war in Gaza, asking the institution to condemn Israel's actions, in a protest that echoed similar demonstrations on campuses in the US, Reuters reports, and later in the day pro-Israel protesters, some wrapped in Israeli or French flags, walked to the building in protest, coming to challenge the pro-Palestinian students occupying the building.
The police came in to separate the two groups.
By the way, "Science Po" is, as it says on their official website, an international research university, focused on the humanities and social sciences.
Shouting their support for the Palestinians, the students displayed Palestinian flags in the windows and above the entrance to the building. Several of them wore the black and white headscarf, the keffiyeh, which has become an emblem of solidarity with Gaza.
"When we see what's happening in the United States and now in Australia, we really hope that it will catch on here in France, academia has a role to play," said Hitcham, 22, a master's student of human rights and humanitarian studies at "Sciences Po".
The students, he said, want "Sciences Po" to condemn Israel's actions.
"We are very happy that (students at) more and more universities are mobilizing," said 20-year-old Zoi, a master's student in public administration at Sciences Po.
"We hope it will spread to all universities and beyond... we will not relent until the genocide in Gaza ends."
Less than a month after being appointed interim administrator of Sciences Po, Jean Basser has already made a big impact. At his request, on the night of Wednesday, April 24, several dozen French police officers entered the school to "clear out" about 60 students who had organized a "sit-in" since the afternoon, called by the Palestinian Committee "Sciences Po". writes the French "Le Monde".
The collective claims to have around 100 members, and was formed in November 2023 in response to the intensification of Israel's offensive on Gaza. The protest action also came a day after unprecedented demonstrations in support of Palestine at Columbia University in New York, which offers dual degrees with Sciences Po.
Science Po's interim director, Jean Basser, condemned today's blockade of the building in a letter to teachers.
He confirmed that the police removed the first group of students on Wednesday evening, adding that he is now talking to student representatives to try to find a solution regarding the new blockade, adds Reuters.
The removal, which took place on Wednesday and was reported by French media, was condemned by left-wing politicians.
Renewed clashes between police and students opposing Israel's war in Gaza erupted on US campuses yesterday, raising questions about the violent methods being used to quell protests that have intensified since mass arrests at Columbia University last Sunday.
Israel killed at least 34.305 Palestinians in the attack on Gaza, health authorities in the enclave announced yesterday, and according to Israeli data, Reuters writes, Israel is retaliating against the attack by Hamas on October 7, in which 1.200 people were killed and 253 were taken hostage. .
Speaking of "sit-in" action, which we see practiced by students in Paris, as Britannica explains, it implies a tactic of non-violent civil disobedience. Protesters enter a business premises or public place and remain seated until they are forcibly evicted or until their complaints are answered.
Attempts to break up the essentially passive sit-in often turn out to be brutal, thus generating sympathy for the protesters among moderates and uninvolved individuals.
Following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, Indians used the sit-in to great advantage during their struggle for independence from the British.
Later, the "sit-in" was adopted as a major tactic in the struggle for the civil rights of American blacks; the first prominent sit-in occurred at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960.
Student activists adopted the tactic later in demonstrations against the Vietnam War.
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