Activists from the “We will live” collective, denouncing the Hamas rapes during the October 7 attack in Israel, were exfiltrated this Friday from the Parisian march for equality between men and women, after tensions with pro-Palestinian activists.
Between 400 and 500 members of this collective, which also calls for the release of the 14 women still detained in the Gaza Strip, surrounded by their security forces, took their place in the procession that left this Friday afternoon from Place Gambetta .
Official authorization to demonstrate
“We had requested authorization to officially demonstrate a week ago from the associations organizing the march and we had obtained the green light,” told the Parisian Sarah Aizenman, a member of the collective who ensured that their presence was peaceful, “without flags Israelis.”
As a reminder, we had our place in this demonstration.
We discussed and exchanged with the inter-organization.
We were marching and we will continue to march to highlight the systematic rapes committed during the terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023.… pic.twitter.com/Rwqbhcwdqj
— Collectif Nous Vivrons (@nous_vivrons) March 8, 2024
But tensions broke out from the start of the demonstration, according to her, with pro-Palestinian activists.
“It started with intimidation, then slogans such as:
Zionists, fascists, you are not feminists
,” says the activist who claims that projectiles were then thrown at the members of her group.
Exfiltrated by the police
Images published on social networks showed violent clashes between pro-Palestinian activists and members of the collective's security service, their faces masked.
“We were protected by the SPCJ (
the Jewish community protection service
),” explains Sarah Aizenman.
Clashes break out between pro-Palestinian activists and the LDJ which was policing the pro-Israeli collective @nous_vivrons during the feminist march in Paris. #JourneeDesDroitsDesFemmes #8march #WomensDay2024 pic.twitter.com/cLnNZcKAeS
— Luc Auffret (@LucAuffret) March 8, 2024
The police finally intervened to exfiltrate the members of the collective into an adjacent street.
“The police offered us to rejoin the procession at the end of the march but our activists are terrified,” continues Sarah Aizenman who affirms that the activists of “We Will Live” were “driven out only because they were Jewish”.
Organized on the occasion of International Women's Rights Day and part of Place Gambetta in the 20th arrondissement this Friday afternoon, the Parisian demonstration was to reach the Bastille.