Students in Paris join pro-Palestinian protest movement

Students from an elite Paris university joined the wave of protests on Friday amid the war in Gaza, despite having their demonstration shut down on Wednesday night by police.

As reported, dozens of students at Sciences Po University in Paris, one of France’s most prestigious universities, protested on Friday after police broke up a pro-Palestinian solidarity demonstration Wednesday night

FRANCE 24 reported that the students “want to start a wave of protests across universities in France”, with most demonstrators calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The student leaders at Sciences Po say they are “not anti-Israel as such,” the report added.

“They say their university is not doing enough to protest the war in Gaza,” reported FRANCE 24’s Shirli Sitbon, from Sciences Po.

“They want to examine all collaborations between their university and Israeli, or pro-Israeli, universities and companies.

Pro-Palestinian protests spread to an increasing number of colleges and universities in the United States in the past weeks.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who wrapped up his visit to China on Friday afternoon after meeting President Xi Jinping, said that campus protests sweeping the United States over the Middle East were part of democracy.

“It’s a hallmark of our democracy that our citizens make known their views, their concerns, their anger, at any given time,” Blinken told reporters, adding: “I think that reflects the strength of the country.”