French students take cue from US peers with pro-Palestine rally at Sorbonne

Similar protests at universities in the US have been broken up by law enforcement and faced suppression.

Transcript

00:00 Students have staged a protest in support of Palestine near the prestigious Sorbonne

00:07 University in Paris.

00:10 Taking their cue from the university campus protest movement across the United States,

00:16 students in Paris chanted slogans in support of the Palestinians living in Gaza.

00:21 I`m inspired by the students in Columbia, in Harvard and in MIT, et cetera, that are

00:29 very strong and that are saying that they want to fight for justice and for the peace

00:35 in Palestine, but also for the liberation of the Palestine. And I`m proud of them even

00:40 though they are very repressed and we see that the police is trying to kill the movement

00:46 by arresting a lot of people.

00:51 Last week, protests broke out at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. Students blocked

00:58 access to a campus building, prompting administrators to move all classes online. Pro-Palestinian

01:05 and pro-Israeli groups then faced off, prompting riot police to step in to separate them.

01:12 Meanwhile, students at Columbia University in New York have defied the deadline set by

01:17 officials to break up their encampment and end their protests or face suspension.

01:24 The university`s president said on Monday the talks with protest organizers had failed.

01:31 We will not be moved by this intimidation tactics. You can see outside you now that

01:37 the students are mobilized. There`s hundreds of them here today. They will not be moved.

01:44 We demand divestment. We will not be moved unless by force.

01:50 The campus protest movement ignited at Columbia two weeks ago when police tried to break up

01:55 a small group of protesters who had pitched tents. That sparked a wave of solidarity protests

02:02 across America, with similar demonstrations taking place on campuses in at least 22 states.

02:08 (audience laughing)