The Paris demonstration to demand an "immediate ceasefire in Gaza" began Saturday afternoon at the initiative of the National Collective for a Just and Lasting Peace between Palestinians and Israelis, which also called for mobilizations throughout France.
The Parisian procession of several thousand participants set off in the rain before 15 p.m. from the Place de la République, behind a banner reading "Stop the massacre in Gaza and the West Bank, cease fire immediately."
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This is a serious time for our Palestinian friends," Bertrand Heilbronn, president of the France Palestine Solidarité association, told reporters before the start of the demonstration. "She is also for peace. It is also for the cohesion of our country," he added.
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Describing the "indescribable suffering for the Palestinian people", calling for "an end to bombings", "ground offensives" and the "lifting of the blockade" of Gaza, the Palestinian activist also questioned the "illegible position" of the French executive "which shames our country".
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France must immediately call for a ceasefire so that the guns fall silent," said Sophie Binet, the general secretary of the CGT who, alongside the unions Solidaires and FSU, relayed the calls to demonstrate from the collective. Mobilizations are organized in 83 cities in France, she added.
In Marseille, several hundred people gathered near the Old Port. A minute's silence was observed for the Palestinian victims.
In Toulouse, a procession gathered in the morning between 1,200 people according to the prefecture and 4,000 according to the CGT.