French university Sciences Po students continue demonstrations in support of Palestine

By Seyma Uzundere

Students at Sciences Po, one of France's leading universities, continue their demonstrations on Friday to protest ongoing Israeli attacks and show solidarity with Gaza.

Following police intervention in their camp, hundreds of students persisted with their protests, gathering to condemn the French government's "complicity in the genocide in Gaza."

The students took over a university building, blocking its entrance with garbage bins and hanging Palestinian flags on the building. They chanted slogans such as "Resistance from Paris to Gaza," "Long live Palestine," and "Macron is an accomplice".

Sciences Po, known for educating many high-ranking French executives and politicians, ranks among the country's most prestigious schools.

In France, opposition lawmakers who support Palestine are being summoned to testify on charges of "terrorist propaganda."

The government attempted to prevent demonstrations in support of Palestine after the Oct. 7 attacks, citing "public order". However those attempts were met with immediate reaction.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people and took nearly 250 as hostages.

Besides killing more than 34,000 Palestinians since then, the Israeli military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.