Thousands of people demonstrated again on Saturday in Britain, France and Germany, in support of the Palestinians and calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The demonstrations were organized in France on the initiative of the National Demonstration for a just and lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
In Paris, a march of thousands of protesters set out in the rain behind a banner reading: “Stop the massacre in Gaza and the West Bank. We need an immediate ceasefire,” according to Agence France-Presse.
Bertrand Heilbrun, head of the French Association of Solidarity with Palestine, told the press: “This is a dangerous phase for our Palestinian friends,” speaking of “unspeakable suffering for the Palestinian people” and calling for “an end to the bombing.” , “land attacks” and the “lifting of the siege” on Gaza.
The activist also criticized the French government’s “unclear position” on the Palestinian issue, “which is a shame for our country.”
Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT Union, the country’s largest union, said: “France must immediately call for a ceasefire to silence the weapons.”
In Marseille (south-east), hundreds of people gathered near the old port. An Agence France-Presse correspondent reported that everyone observed a minute’s silence to mourn the lives of the Palestinian victims.
In Toulouse (southwest), a morning march included 1,200 people, according to the police, and 4,000, according to the CGT.
In London, many demonstrations were organized instead of the large march organized on the previous five Saturdays.
In the north of the British capital, hundreds of people demonstrated near the office of opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer, criticized for refusing to call for a ceasefire. Like Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, he is calling for a truce to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered.
Protester Aziz said, declining to give his full name: “We are here to put pressure on the government, and on Keir Starmer as leader of the Labor Party, to put pressure on the Israeli government to cease fire.”
The 26-year-old, of Jordanian origins, added: “The truce means that there are 4 hours in which no massacres are committed, and then massacres are committed for 20 hours a day. This is illogical.”
Nicoletta (36 years old), who works in the healthcare sector, held up a banner reading: “Bombing a hospital is a crime” and called for a “ceasefire”, “peace negotiations” and an “end to the occupation”. .”
Other demonstrations were also organized in several British cities.
Around 300,000 people demonstrated in London on Saturday, according to the British Metropolitan Police, in the largest demonstration organized in the British capital since October 7.
Since then, London police have arrested 386 people linked to the conflict, including 253 linked to the demonstrations.
More than 2,000 people demonstrated on Saturday in the German capital, Berlin, to express their support for Palestine and to denounce Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
According to police estimates, the number of protesters on Saturday afternoon reached 2,500 people. Many demonstrators carried the Palestinian flag in its black, white, red and green colors, as well as the Palestinian scarf in its black and white colors. At the start of the march in Invaliden Park, near the main train station, many people chanted the phrases “Freedom for Gaza” and “Freedom for Palestine,” as well as phrases such as: “Germany finances, Israel bombs” and: “Stop the genocide”.
The organizer of the rally said over the loudspeaker: “We want to coexist in peace with the Jews,” and also repeated this statement: “We do not support terrorist organizations and we do not support killings in Israel.”
For its part, the police have banned any calls for violence, as well as the promotion of many Palestinian organizations, including Hamas. Organizers had announced that protesters would stage a silent funeral procession to the “Big Star” square in Berlin’s Tiergarten district.