Demonstrators took to the streets of London and Paris on Saturday to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and express solidarity with the Palestinians.
On Saturday, the mass gathering, organised by civil society groups, including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Stop the War Coalition and Friends of Al-Aqsa, commenced at Hyde Park in the early hours, culminating in a march towards the US Embassy.
Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak directly addressed the recent pro-Palestinian protests and called on citizens to resist the influence of “extremist” elements seeking to exploit public dissent.
Amid heightened security measures organised by the police, chanting crowds called for peace with slogans such as “Cease-fire now” and “Free Palestine.”
As the demonstrations progressed, police remained on high alert, taking heightened security measures at 11 different events across the city. Police also announced shift adjustments for more than 35,000 officers, cancelling the leave of 5,200 officers for Saturday’s events.
Since October, events in solidarity with Palestine have required significant expenditure, totalling £32.3 million.
In the meantime, a huge march by the Urgence Palestine collective, supported by the France Insoumise political party, marched through Paris from the famous Place de la Republique on Saturday.
Carrying “SOS Gaza” banners and Palestinian flags, demonstrators condemned the ongoing “genocide” of Palestinians and called for a boycott of Israel and an immediate halt to Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France’s Unconquered and head of the party’s list for June’s European Parliament elections, was present along with other MPs. Manon Aubry and French-Palestinian activist Rima Hassan also joined the protest.
“France’s voice counts and more than ever. It must resonate in the European Parliament to obtain a permanent and immediate cease-fire and peace,” Rima Hassan said.
Police said 11,500 people took part in the protests, while organisers said there were at least 60,000.
The counter-offensive has already caused the deaths of nearly 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded 72,524 amid widespread destruction and a shortage of basic necessities. 85 percent of Gaza’s population was displaced amid severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, and 60 percent of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
