PARIS (AP) – French police on Friday peacefully removed dozens of students who had gathered in support of the Palestinians from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (also known as Sciences Po) building, sparking similar encampments and solidarity across the United States. I agree with the demonstrations.
Students waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of Gaza residents as Israel continued its offensive following the deadly Hamas-led attack on October 7 that triggered the Israel-Hamas war.
The Science Po building had been occupied since Thursday evening. University authorities closed the main building and moved classes online.
Top Shot – Demonstrators are taken away by French military police during the evacuation of a pro-Gaza sit-in in the entrance hall of the Paris Institute of Political Science (Paris Institute of Sciences) on May 3, 2024. one student told reporters. Fifty students were still on the premises on Rue Saint-Guillaume when police arrived. Poly Science students have been holding numerous protests, some outraged by the Israeli-Hamas war and the subsequent humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian Gaza siege. (Photo by Miguel Medina/AFP) (Photo by Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE – MAY 3: Police intervene with students organizing a demonstration in Science Po to protest the situation in the Gaza Strip, which continues to be attacked by Israel, on May 3, 2024 in Paris, France. Police are evacuating protesters from the school campus. (Photo by Luc Auffret/Anadolu via Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE – MAY 3: Police intervene with students organizing a demonstration in Science Po to protest the situation in the Gaza Strip, which continues to be attacked by Israel, on May 3, 2024 in Paris, France. Police are evacuating protesters from the school campus. (Photo by: Luc Auffret/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Pro-Palestinian students were scheduled to hold a protest late Friday in front of the Pantheon monument near the elite Sorbonne University, demanding an end to Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Similar protests took place Thursday at other universities across the country, including Lille and Lyon.
The prime minister’s office announced on Thursday that police were asked to remove students from 23 locations on the French campus, and “all were evacuated within hours.”
The department said in a statement that it would maintain a police presence near Sciences Po to prevent further blockades.
Tensions erupted last week near the elite university, which counts President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal among its notable alumni. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators clashed in the street outside Science Po. Riot police intervened to separate the groups.
The protest ended peacefully after the pro-Palestinian students agreed to leave.
PARIS, FRANCE – MAY 3: Police intervene with students organizing a demonstration in Science Po to protest the situation in the Gaza Strip, which continues to be attacked by Israel, on May 3, 2024 in Paris, France. Police are evacuating protesters from the school campus. (Photo by: Luc Auffret/Anadolu via Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE – MAY 3: Police intervene with students organizing a demonstration in Science Po to protest the situation in the Gaza Strip, which continues to be attacked by Israel, on May 3, 2024 in Paris, France. Police are evacuating protesters from the school campus. (Photo by: Luc Auffret/Anadolu via Getty Images)
