Students resume pro-Palestinian protests at prestigious Paris university
26 April 2024, 12:24
Entrances have been blocked by students at the Sciences Po institution.
Students at a prestigious university in Paris have resumed pro-Palestinian protests, inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses around the US, two days after French police broke up another demonstration.
Dozens of students at the Sciences Po blocked an entrance to a campus building in central Paris with bins, a bicycle, pieces of metal and wooden platforms.
About 40 people remained in a building overnight in defiance of administrators who students say called the police on their peers two days earlier.
On Wednesday evening, more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the amphitheatre outside the university’s Paris campus.
Most agreed to leave after discussions with management but a small group of students remained. They were removed by police later that night, according to French media reports.
The demonstration was organised by the Palestine Committee of Sciences Po, demanding the administration cut ties with universities and companies over their alleged support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are digging in at Columbia University for a 10th day, one of a number of demonstrations roiling campuses from California to Connecticut.
Hundreds of students and even some professors have been arrested across the US, sometimes amid struggles with police.
In New York, Columbia is negotiating with student protesters who have rebuffed police and doubled down.
Other educational bodies have been quick to call law enforcement to curb demonstrations before they can take hold.
Columbia officials have said they will seek other options if the negotiations with protesters fail.
