By Palestine Chronicle Staff
French activists in Paris protested on Saturday in front of an Israeli pavilion at VivaTech, a major international fair for start-ups.
Action #BDS ce samedi 26 mai devant le pavillon israélien du salon #Vivatech à Paris pour l'annulation de la saison France Israël. #gaza #bds (photo: via @Campagnebds ) : https://t.co/3bCHYvYEmR cc @EmmanuelMacron @EPhilippePM @PierreBuhler pic.twitter.com/q84VKUsD7p
— AgenceMediaPalestine (@AgenceMediaPal) May 26, 2018
Protesters from BDS France, a group that supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign for Palestinian rights, chanted “boycott apartheid Israel” and “stop the massacres in Gaza.”
A video published on their website showed the participants being pressured to clear from the scene, but they took the ground instead and continued their chants:
In a statement, the BDS France commented:
“With the presence of this pavilion, Israel is being honored and marketed as a ‘start-up nation,’ an appealing country at the forefront of technological innovation that can ensure our security and improve our lives. But Israel’s real brand identity is colonization, occupation and apartheid.”
The statement added,
“By organizing this year’s event, where an official delegation by the Israeli trade ministry is represented, the French government has chosen to support “the Israeli apartheid regime, help whitewash its image and make France complicit in its crimes.”
On May 16, protesters rallied in central Paris in a protest against the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, while similar solidarity actions were held around France.
En ce moment, au Trocadéro à Paris, près de 3000 manifestant·e·s sont rassemblé·e·s en solidarité avec le peuple palestinien.#Palestinr #Gaza #GreatReturnMarch pic.twitter.com/ftai4Hkev1
— BDS France (@Campagnebds) May 16, 2018
Despite the popular outrage at the deadly attacks and calls for recalling France’s ambassador’s to Tel Aviv, the government’s response was mere expressions of disapproval of the Israeli violence.
“Israel’s high-tech industry is closely tied to research on weapons that are marketed around the world as having been tested on Palestinians.” https://t.co/ivnCne3pnv
— jo (@jofromgreylynn) May 27, 2018
In an online poll run by the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, around two-thirds of the 33,500 people surveyed approved that France should recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv.
(PC, Social Media)
