from Paris to Cape Town, thousands of people march in support of Gaza and Lebanon, one year after October 7

In France, several thousand demonstrators marched in the streets of Paris, Lyon, Toulouse and Strasbourg on Saturday afternoon.

In Cape Town (South Africa), London (United Kingdom), Paris, Lyon and Strasbourg, thousands of people marched on Saturday October 5 during pro-Gaza rallies, marking the first anniversary of the bloody conflict between Israel and the Hamas. These demonstrations took place as Israel has just carried out new bombings in Lebanon, particularly in the southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of pro-Iranian Hezbollah.

In France, several thousand people marched in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse and Strasbourg to mark their “solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people”noted AFP journalists. In Paris, the Parisian procession of 5,000 people, according to the authorities, marched from the Place de la République to that of Clichy, to cries of “Palestine will live, Palestine will win”. At the head of the procession, several political figures from the extreme left, notably the Insoumis Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Manon Aubry, Thomas Portes and Louis Boyard.

A thousand people also marched in Lyon, according to the prefecture. In Toulouse, 300 demonstrators marched, according to the authorities. In Strasbourg, there were also 200 demonstrators, carrying signs.

In London (United Kingdom), thousands of residents and political figures marched in the British capital. Waving placards and Palestinian and Lebanese flags, demonstrators rushed into the center of the British capital late in the morning, noted an AFP journalist. At the head of the procession in particular, the former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn (now independent) and the former Scottish Prime Minister Humza Yousaf.

The London police announced in the middle of the afternoon that they had made around fifteen arrests. Numerous protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza have taken place over the past year in London. A demonstration in memory of the approximately 1,205 people killed during the unprecedented Hamas attack in Israel on October 7 is to be held in London on Sunday.

In Dublin, in the Irish capital, several hundred people demonstrated their support for the Gazouis with cries of “freedom and justice for the Palestinians”noted AFP.

In South Africa, several hundred people demonstrated in central Cape Town on Saturday, waving Palestinian flags and chanting anti-Israeli slogans. Brandishing signs accusing Israel of genocide and celebrating the former leader of Hezbollah killed on Saturday September 28, Hassan Nasrallah, the demonstrators headed towards the South African Parliament.

Protesters told AFP they supported South Africa’s complaint to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Pretoria maintains that the Israeli offensive in Gaza was launched in retaliation for the bloody Hamas attack. Pro-Gaza marches were also planned for Saturday in other South African cities, including Johannesburg and Durban.