Negotiations concluded with the school… During the sit-in, clashes occurred between pro-Israel protesters and outside the building.
Police intervened in outdoor theater tent sit-in… Faculty criticized for ‘excessive response’
According to the daily Liberation on the 26th (local time), about 50 students belonging to the ‘Palestinian Committee’ at Sciences Po, a prestigious French political university, occupied part of the school building and began a sit-in protest the night before.
Students who protested outside the building set up their own barricades at the entrance of the building with trash cans and iron fences to prevent police from entering.
The Palestinian committee leading the sit-in protest was formed in November last year when Israel’s airstrikes on the Gaza Strip intensified.
They are demanding that the school issue a clear message condemning Israel’s actions and cease cooperation with all institutions or organizations involved in the oppression of Palestinians.
They also called for an end to the suppression of pro-Palestinian voices on campus.
The school criticized the students’ sit-in occupation of the building, saying, “We strongly condemn such actions that disrupt the smooth operation of the school and disadvantage students, teachers, and staff,” and even closed some of the Paris campus buildings.
At around 4 p.m. on this day, about 50 pro-Israeli protesters flocked to the site and clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the building.
As a fight broke out between the two sides, the police arrived, separated the two groups, and controlled the scene.
While the sit-in was ongoing, the school and committee attempted to find a compromise several times.
As a result, the protesters received a promise from the school at around 8:30 p.m. to hold a town hall meeting attended by the school management and all students before the 2nd of next month and to stop all disciplinary procedures against pro-Palestinian students who protested on campus. .
The committee responded and lifted the occupation of the building around 9:15 p.m.
They moved their protest into the building on the night of the 25th when the police arrived at the school’s request and dispersed them.
Although there was no physical conflict during the police dispersal process, criticism was raised among faculty that the school’s deployment of public power into the campus was an excessive response.
“This is all part of the process in which students learn politics,” sociologist Olivier Godshaw told the daily Le Monde. “It is unfortunate that schools have chosen this repressive method when there are other ways to manage this type of collective expression.” criticized.
Sociologist Philippe Coulantine also said, “Faculty opinions on this movement (pro-Palestinian protests) vary, but they all agree that the protests on Wednesday (24th) evening were peaceful and could not be responded to with force.”
He continued, “Science Po is closely linked with foreign universities, especially Columbia University.
“This shows that the movement on campus is not a temporary or isolated movement,” he said, adding, “In the long run, it would not be appropriate to mobilize police forces.”
The school countered, saying, “The students promised to leave the sit-in site in consultation, but some students refused, so we decided to disperse it by public power. We tried many times to talk to the students to leave the building peacefully, but we could not find another way.” did.
In the United States, campus protests criticizing Israel’s airstrikes in the Gaza Strip and supporting Palestine are continuing in various places, including Columbia University.
As the protests intensified, the school mobilized the police to forcibly disperse the protesters, and hundreds of students were arrested in the process.
/yunhap news
Tags: Lifting sitin proPalestinian protesters French University Political Science Comprehensive #2nd report
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