Counterfire members report on an emergency protest in Paris following the kidnapping of activists on board the Gaza Sumud Flotilla

Paris was painted red, black, white and green on Saturday. Assembling at the Place de la Republique the demonstration of around five thousand was vibrant, colourful and militant as it slowly marched through the streets towards the Bastille.

Chants were rousing and varied, with familiar points from the UK focusing on ending the occupation, demanding sanctions on Israel, and an arms embargo. People were slamming stickers on to buildings, holding placards and singing chants with critiques of Macron that ring like those of Starmer in the UK.

The pro-Palestine movement in France is managing to grow despite facing intense repression from the police. One French comrade said, “we have faced brutality from the police from the start (October 2023) and we were much smaller back then”. Another one mentioned recent clash with the police in Toulouse, while a third spoke of how the protests in support of the Sumud Flotilla on Thursday had ended in tear gas and flash grenades.

A French comrade told us that the police do not approve the marches until the last minute, to ensure maximum disruption . This demonstration had two weeks build up, which they considered to be a very long time and the reason behind a larger turnout of around 10,000 people. Smaller demos are therefore more common in comparison with the size of national marches in London, meaning many spoke of how they look across the sea to us for inspiration.

Stan from Nouveau Parti anti-Capitaliste (NPA) said

“The powers that be, they all want to cancel our protests. Whether it’s in London or whether it’s in other places in France, and I think it’s because they’re afraid of us”.

As we face a fight ourselves against the government’s attempts to stop Palestine protests, we must oppose this with a clear and simple message: We Will March. 

Just like in Britian, the French comrades must engage with their national trade unions to link the struggles against genocide with the drive to war and the defunding of public services. 

From Jakarta, Morocco, Italy, Nepal, Madagascar, Bangladesh to Paris, the struggle against war, austerity and for a free Palestine continues. La lutte continue. All out on the 11th.