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Palestinian flag becomes fixture of French protests as critics warn of politicization
Palestinian flags again appeared alongside yellow vests at Saturday’s protests in France. Critics argue left-wing politicians are exploiting the school movement, and in Lyon a flag was raised outside a burning building.
Palestinian flags, which have accompanied school protests in France since September, appeared again on Saturday at nationwide demonstrations against the cost of living and school conditions. In the processions, they flew alongside the yellow vests that symbolize the movement.
School blockades began on Sept. 21 at a high school in the Paris suburb of Créteil, and Palestinian flags have since been seen outside many schools. Writer and journalist Omar Youssef Souleimane noted in a column for L’Express that the Palestinian cause is absent from the official demands of high school organizations but has become one of the main causes for young people since Oct. 7, 2023. In his view, La France Insoumise lawmakers Rima Hassan, Mathilde Panot and Louis Boyard, who backed the blockades and put Palestine at the center of their messaging, are politically appropriating the movement ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Lyon: a flag outside the burning tourist office
In Lyon, the tourist office on Place Bellecour was looted and set on fire, and according to the Rhône prefecture, some groups hampered firefighters. Media reported that some protesters at the scene wore yellow vests while others carried Palestinian flags. A photo that spread online shows a hooded person waving a Palestinian flag in front of a burning building.
Another photo shows a masked protester standing on an equestrian statue with a Palestinian flag in hand.
Paris: Marianne in a yellow vest
In Paris, a car and a newspaper kiosk were set on fire at Place de la République, where the march began. Protesters crowded onto the Monument to the Republic, and black tears were drawn on one of the statues on its base.
Demonstrators also put a yellow vest on the statue of Marianne, the personification of the Republic.
Among the participants was a person in a Deadpool costume, reportedly wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, who danced in front of a police cordon and drew a crowd and photographers.
Some accounts also linked the protests to a video that spread on social networks on Oct. 10, showing a huge crowd with Palestinian flags filling Place de la République. When and at which event it was filmed could not be independently confirmed.
Scale of the protests
Unions said about 800,000 people took part, while the Interior Ministry counted 550,000, including about 110,000 in Paris. In the capital, the Chanel boutique on rue des Francs-Bourgeois was looted. In Marseille, marchers chanted “It’s the revolution, we’re taking the Bastille,” and Mayor Benoît Payan said rioters were discrediting the high school students’ demands.
President Emmanuel Macron promised to hold accountable those who attacked prefectures, businesses and town halls. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported “scenes of looting” in many cities and said about 400 people had been detained.
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