Paris students in sit-in as US Palestine protests spread

French police have broken up a sit-in by pro-Palestinian students in Paris, in a sign of United States campus protests spreading to Europe, but demonstrators vowed to continue occupying university buildings as they demand bosses condemn and cut ties with Israel, write Tim Stickings, Sunniva Rose and Lemma Shehadi for The National.

The prestigious Sciences Po university is the scene of intensifying expressions of pro-Palestinian sentiment, students told The National. “Students were inspired by what’s happening in several American campuses, whether it’s Columbia or Harvard,” said one, who requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the topic. Riot police said on Wednesday evening (24 April) they had evacuated about 60 students “occupying” Saint Thomas campus in the heart of the upmarket neighbourhood of Saint Germain des Pres. In Paris, a slightly larger group of students returned to a separate Sciences Po campus on Thursday to occupy a main hallway, the student said, where they were joined by faculty staff.

An EU civil servant, who took part in a 15-minute silent protest outside the European Commission building in Brussels on Thursday 25 April, told The National they welcomed protests on European campuses.
Full report on The National site