French Police Clear Palestine Student Occupation at Paris University

PARIS (AP) – French police on Friday peacefully removed dozens of students from a building at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, known as Sciences Po, who had gathered in support of Palestinians, echoing similar encampments and solidarity demonstrations across the United States.

Students waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of residents of Gaza, as Israel continues its offensive following the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack that triggered the Israeli-Hamas war.

The Sciences Po building had been occupied since Thursday evening. The university administration had closed the main buildings and moved classes online.

TOPSHOT – A protester is escorted away by French gendarmes during the evacuation of a pro-Gaza sit-in in the entrance hall of the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po Paris) in Paris on May 3, 2024. One student told reporters that around 50 students were still inside the rue Saint-Guillaume site when police entered. Students at Sciences Po have staged a number of protests, with some students furious over the Israel-Hamas war and ensuing humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)

PARIS, FRANCE – MAY 03: Police officers intervene against students organizing a demonstration at Sciences Po to protest the situation in Gaza, where Israeli attacks continue in Paris, France on May 03, 2024. Police officers are evacuating demonstrators from the school campus. (Photo by Luc Auffret/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Pro-Palestinian students were planning to hold a protest later Friday in front of the Pantheon monument, near the elite Sorbonne University, to call for an end to Israel´s offensive in Gaza.

On Thursday, similar protests took place in some other universities across the country, including in Lille and Lyon.

The Prime Minister’s Office said police had been requested to remove students from 23 sites on French campuses on Thursday and “all were evacuated within a few hours.”

A police presence will be maintained near Sciences Po to prevent any further blockades, it said in a statement.

Last week, tensions broke out near the elite university, which counts President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal among its many famous alumni. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators faced each other in a standoff in the street outside Sciences Po. Riot police stepped in to separate the groups.

The protest ended peacefully as pro-Palestinian students agreed to leave.

French Police Clear Pro-Palestine Student Occupation at Paris University

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