Dozens of students are currently carrying out a pro-Palestinian blockade in the main campus building of major French university Sciences Po in central Paris. The students were seen chanting pro-Palestinian slogans from the windows of the building on Rue Saint Guillame. They have also erected a barricade blocking access to the street, which lies off the famous Boulevard Saint Germain in Paris' Left Bank.
Video footage captured students carrying placards calling for an end to 'genocide' in Gaza and the boycott of Israeli universities. The group of students could be heard chanting slogans such as 'Free Palestine.' Earlier this week, Paris police removed over 100 students who had camped out in one of the campus courtyards as part of their protest efforts.
Sciences Po is one of France's most highly ranked universities and has strong ties to Columbia University in New York, where students have been staging widespread pro-Palestinian protests. The two universities offer a dual BA program that allows students to study in both institutions.
One student named Hicham mentioned a connection between the Paris protests and those at Columbia University, stating, 'It reminds us of 1968 where anti-war movements were growing in the United States and also in France...Seeing some friends and comrades doing this in Columbia University and all around the US and now in Australia also motivated us to continue the fight that we have been doing since October.'
