At the call of the Coordination to Support the Palestine Resistance in Paris, France, a march in support of the Palestinian resistance was organized from Barbès to République on Saturday, 2 April. A crowd displaying Palestinian flags and numerous banners came out despite the Parisian cold to affirm their support for the Palestinian people and their struggle against imperialism, Zionism and the reactionary Arab regimes.
In addition to the member organizations of the coordination (Association of Palestinians in Ile-de-France, ANC, FUIQP, Unitary Campaign for the Liberation of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Collectif Ivryens, ISM France, Argenteuil Solidarité Palestine), activists from BDS Paris Banlieue, UJFP, CAPJPO-Europalestine, NPA, UJC, Jeunes Révolutionnaires and Samidoun Région Parisienne were present.
This initiative was part of the commemorations of Land Day and the international day of mobilization for the release of Georges Abdallah, the Lebanese communist and Palestinian resistance fighter imprisoned in France for more than 37 years. 2 April, Abdallah’s birthday, was marked as a day of action in cities throughout France and elsewhere in the world.
During the march, speakers read out the call for the march, and participants chanted many slogans in support of the Palestinian resistance, including “Long live the armed struggle of the Palestinian people,” “Palestine will live, Palestine will win, free Georges Abdallah!” for the return of all Palestinian refugees, and against the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Marchers also strongly denounced the criminalization of the Palestine solidarity movement, in particular the recent dissolutions of several organizations, such as the Collectif Palestine Vaincra.
At the end of the demonstration, speakers presented several statements, including one written by Georges Abdallah for the occasion. In a declaration faithful to his anti-imperialist and revolutionary principles, he affirmed:
“By commemorating ‘Land Day’ today on the eve of this month of Ramadan, the Palestinian popular masses, of all generations, know better than anyone that nothing and no one will be able to eradicate this popular Intifada, rooted in the collective consciousness and necessary to end the occupation. This is, more than ever, the embodiment of all dignity and all hopes. […] Comrades and friends, from behind the abominable prison walls, Ahmad Sa’adat and the thousands of comrades imprisoned in Zionist jails bring you their revolutionary greetings and draw your attention to fascist and supremacist groups in Ramleh, Lydda, Haifa and Umm al-Fahm, openly supported by the Israeli police. That said, Comrades, the Palestinian popular masses can rely and must be able to rely on your mobilization in the face of all the nefarious propaganda of the imperialist bourgeoisie.”
A few days earlier, on Wednesday 30 March 30, the National Collective for a Just and Lasting Peace organized a rally at Place de la République in Paris to commemorate Palestinian Land Day. Around a hundred people were present, including members of AFPS, BDS France, BDS Paris Banlieue, UJFP, Solidaires, CGT, FSU, Ensemble, Femmes Egalité, Unitary campaign for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah and Samidoun Région Parisienne. Many organizations and individuals spoke, including Elsa Lefort, wife of imprisoned French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri and spokesperson for his support committee.
She denounced the administrative detention — imprisonment without charge or trial — of her husband, a human rights defender, and the complicit silence of the French government in the face of the relentless campaign of harassment and persecution conducted by the Israeli government against Hamouri In his speech on behalf of the French Jewish Union for Peace (UJFP), Pierre Stambul said:
“We demand an end to complicity with this rogue state and in particular we denounce France’s collusion with apartheid. The criminalization of anti-Zionism and the dissolution of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra are proof of this. We denounce the shameless instrumentalization of anti-Semitism to defend a colonial state. Anti-Semitism is a crime and anti-Zionism is a duty. We demand the release of all Palestinian prisoners: the 6 escapees and recaptured from Gilboa, Marwan Barghouti, Ahmed Saadat, our comrade Salah Hamouri and Georges Abdallah, a prisoner relocated to France for 38 years.”
Samidoun Région Parisienne regularly mobilizes in support of the Palestinian people and their resistance for the liberation of Palestine from the sea to the Jordan. Do not hesitate to contact us on our social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook ,Twitter) or by email at [email protected] if you wish to participate in our initiatives, including our monthly Palestine Stands in Aubervilliers and sending letters of support to Palestinian prisoners.
