About 2,000 people gathered in Paris on Thursday night, according to the police prefecture, to demand an end to the “massacre in Gaza” and an “immediate ceasefire” in a government-sanctioned demonstration in response to a call by some elected radicals. leftist officials from La France Insoumise and some political and trade union groups, AFP reported.

A small crowd gathered in Republic Square, carrying flags and placards in support of the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza, as seen by an AFP journalist. The demonstrators, who numbered 2,000 according to the Paris police prefecture, then dispersed peacefully.

“Children of Gaza, children of Palestine, humanity is being killed”, “Cease fire immediately and stop the massacre in Gaza”, “Murderer Israel, accomplice of Macron”: the demonstrators chanted various pro-Palestinian slogans. Several posters also read “Stop the Genocide in Gaza”.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in Gaza and Israel in recent days, a war sparked by Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7. The Israeli army announced late Thursday that it had “completed the encirclement of Gaza City,” the target of continuous shelling since October 7.

“We are ashamed of Macron’s position. What is he waiting for to condemn the war crimes of the Netanyahu government?” – member of parliament Oreli Trouvé shouted into the microphone.

“We are not doing enough. We are facing genocide, we are the only ones who can draw the attention of governments,” 27-year-old Sarah, a public law student who came to the protest in the evening, told AFP. “To be silent or to do nothing is complicity,” she added.

Other demonstrations – “marches against the war” – are planned for Saturday in Paris and other French cities, organized mainly by the LFI, EELV and CGT. The rally in Paris from the Place de la République to the Place des Nations was authorized by the prefecture of police. The Socialist Party, which initially abstained, eventually also called for a march.