With cries of “Palestine will live!” Palestine will win”, “long live the struggle of the Palestinian people” or “we are all children of Gaza”, the Action Palestine committee and other organizations calling for a ceasefire, made themselves heard during the May 1 demonstration this Wednesday in Bordeaux. Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been reignited. In retaliation, bombings have been hitting the Gaza Strip for several months.
Behind Solidaires 33, at the back of the procession, the slogans punctuated and animated a demonstration which brought together, according to the unions, around 4,000 participants in the Gironde capital. A weak mobilization if we compare it to the historic one of last year. In the context of pension reform, around 100,000 participants were counted by the organizers.
” Lot of energy “
“There should be many more of us,” says a demonstrator, a Palestinian flag in her hand. But I’m happy, it’s a great moment, there’s a lot of energy. » Indeed, boosted by organizers equipped with microphones and aided by a sound system covered with a black tarpaulin to defy the bad weather, the demonstrators took up numerous slogans, in solidarity with Palestine. “I don’t see enough flags raised,” warned one of the organizers, before the demonstration left the Place de la Bourse, around 10:30 a.m. Brandished proudly, they are finally clearly visible at the back of the procession, once the demonstration has started.
“Last year, in the procession, we were asked which country this flag was from, I think now we know that it is the Palestinian flag,” underlines this demonstrator. “It hasn’t been long since people have been mobilizing for Palestine,” said a 59-year-old activist from the French Workers’ Communist Party (PCOF). It’s hellish, this massacre must stop. This war which has lasted for seventy-five years must stop. »
“A colonial situation”
For the Palestine action committee, which mobilizes every Saturday at Place de la Victoire in Bordeaux, it is a logical continuation to participate in May 1st. “We are still as determined as ever,” explains one of its members, aged 33. We are organizing support for the Palestinians and to denounce the genocide which is currently taking place in Gaza for many months, with 40,000 dead now.”
Two years ago, a decree was issued to dissolve the association but it obtained its suspension before the Council of State. “He recognized that our remarks were neither an apology for terrorism nor anti-Semitism but just support for a people struggling in a colonial situation,” says the thirty-year-old.
With several other classmates, Leïla, a third-year student at Science Po Bordeaux, joined this demonstration, keffiyeh on her head. “We try to seize every opportunity to raise awareness of the cause,” explains the young woman. As in other political science institutes, a committee for Palestine was created a month ago. “We want to put pressure on the school to stop certain partnerships and we managed to get a meeting this Thursday,” explains Leïla. The students mobilized when representatives of Thales came to their campus, since the group is accused of supplying weapons to Israel.
“It’s very frustrating because our school reminds us that we must demonstrate critical thinking and humanism but it maintains relations with an apartheid and genocidal state,” points out the student. She also denounces the fact that students who mobilize on these subjects are criminalized or that they are said to be politically exploited “as if we did not have a critical mind”.
Each time, the objective is, according to his analysis, to discredit their fight. However, by giving voice during this International Workers’ Day, support for the Palestinian cause also demonstrated the existence of support in the trade union and political world.