PARIS: Police moved in to clear dozens of protesters who had set up tents in a courtyard at the Sorbonne University in Paris on Monday (Apr 29) to protest against the war in Gaza, students there said.
The demonstration took place three days after protests at the capital’s elite Sciences Po university and came in the wake of rallies on campuses across the United States against the conflict.
“We set up tents … like in several US universities,” Sorbonne student Louis Maziere said. “We’re doing all we can to raise awareness about what is happening in Palestine, about the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
“Police then came running in, brought down tents, grabbed students by the collar and dragged them on the ground, that’s not OK … We’re quite shocked,” he said.
Fellow student Lou said: “What we’re pushing for is peace and they answer with force and violence.”
BFM TV showed footage of police dragging a couple of students out.
A police source confirmed they had intervened to clear out the Sorbonne’s courtyard.
“This operation, which lasted only a few minutes, was carried out peacefully without incident,” the source said, declining to respond to questions on how the students had been removed.
