French president condemns pro-Palestinian students’ blockades in universities

ANKARA

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday condemned the closure of campus entrances at top universities by pro-Palestinian students protesting Israeli attacks on Gaza.

In an interview with La Tribune Dimanche and La Provence dailies, Macron condemned “with the utmost firmness” the blockades of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at universities.

While students accusing the French government of being hypocritical on Gaza continue their protests, Macron said he finds it “legitimate, healthy and reassuring for young people to express that they are affected by international events and discuss them on this issue."

He said he was in favor of security forces evacuating the protesting students "if requested by the university administrations.”

Amid continuing pro-Palestine protests in US, support for Palestine is being shown in many universities in France.

Students at Sciences Po, one of France's leading universities, are organizing demonstrations to protest the situation in Gaza and give a message of solidarity with Palestine.

Future politicians and leading figures of the country are trained in Sciences Po schools, which are located in Paris and other major French cities, with admission gained through a special exam.

France's Sorbonne University is also seeing demonstrations in support of Palestine.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 incursion by Hamas which killed some 1,200 people.

Tel Aviv, in comparison, has killed nearly 34,700 Palestinians and wounded over 78,000 amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities in the Palestinian territory.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement besides a crippling blockade on food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to prevent genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar