Thousands rally in Paris to support Palestine, condemn Israeli actions

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Thousands rally in Paris to support Palestine, condemn Israeli actions

2025-09-22 10:41 Last Updated At：15:57

Multiple political parties, social organizations, and crowds of citizens held a rally on Sunday in central Paris to condemn Israel's military actions in Gaza and express solidarity with Palestine.

As France and several other European countries plan to announce their recognition of the State of Palestine at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, the demonstration drew an exceptionally large number of participants, with the crowd reaching several thousand. Despite the organizers claimed that it was a peaceful protest, heavy police presence still can be seen along their marching route.

Participants waved Palestinian flags and held signs with slogans such as "Save Gaza" and "Sanction Israel." Many French citizens condemned Israel's escalating military operations in the Gaza Strip and called on countries that have not yet made a decision to promptly recognize the State of Palestine.

"I believe Israel and Palestine should be two states. Today, Israel is slaughtering children. I've seen these images of children being slaughtered every day. I understand Arabic, and I saw these images live. I've seen constant bombings from the beginning of the conflict. Children are still being killed. That's why I came to the march, and why I will keep participating," said Mohamed Nabil-Kort, a demonstrator.

Leaders from several French political parties also joined the march that day. They said that recognizing the State of Palestine is a "necessary first step," but emphasized that truly ending the Israel-Palestine conflict will require stronger international action, including the imposition of economic sanctions on Israel.

"Today's march carries another important meaning. Because only recognizing the State of Palestine is not enough to make the Netanyahu government yield. There must be further measures specifically targeting Netanyahu's administration. That is why we are marching today. We hope that, in addition to recognizing the State of Palestine, France will step up its diplomatic efforts and introduce an economic sanctions plan against Israel," said Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the French Communist Party.

Tehran hit by large-scale US-Israeli air attacks

Iran's capital Tehran was subjected to large-scale airstrikes by the United States and Israel on Friday night while two U.S. warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, Iranian forces said.

At around 21:00, an aircraft was seen flying over northeastern Tehran, and subsequently, Iran's air defense system was activated.

More than two hours later, Iran was hit by another air attack, leading to major explosions. It came after the Iranian military announced that its air defense system had successfully shot down a U.S. A-10 fighter jet, marking the second U.S. warplane hit by Iranian fire that day. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday night threatened to hit Iran "extremely hard over the next two to three weeks," a timeline he has recently set for ending the monthlong war.

Iran has rejected a U.S. proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire delivered to Iran through a "friendly" country, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Friday.

The report added that Iran's response to the offer was not given in writing, but through the continuation of attacks in the battlefield.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East.