Pro-Palestine activists occupy FFF to protest France-Israel match
Nearly 25 pro-Palestinian activists, affiliated with the "Stop Genocide" collective, took over the premises of the French Football Federation (FFF) in Paris on Monday. Their goal: to protest against the holding of the France-Israel match scheduled for November 14 at the Stade de France as part of the League of Nations. By occupying the premises, the demonstrators hope to draw attention to Israel's alleged violations of international law in the current conflict with Hamas.
The gathering, although peaceful, required the intervention of law enforcement, with around thirty CRS officers surrounding the building around 17pm. After an hour of mobilisation, the activists left the premises peacefully. An agreement was reached to organise a meeting the following day between delegates from the collective and a representative of the FFF in order to make their demands heard.
Determined opposition to the match
The protesters, dressed in keffiyehs and brandishing signs such as "Free Palestine" and "No to the France-Israel match at the Stade de France", intended to denounce the maintenance of this match despite the tense context linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has lasted for more than a year. According to the spokesperson for the collective, the match symbolizes tacit support for the Israeli state, pointing to the latter's military policy in the Gaza Strip. Conversely, other European nations have relocated their matches against Israel, with Belgium for example having moved its match to Debrecen, in Hungary.
The FFF maintains the meeting under high security
Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior, confirmed that the match would indeed take place at the Stade de France, stressing a question of "principle". During an intervention on BFMTV on November 1, he specified that reinforced security measures would be put in place to avoid any incident during the event, classified as "high risk" by the French authorities. In addition to increased supervision outside and inside the stadium, a limit on the number of spectators is being considered, although this option has not yet been validated.
The French authorities appear determined to maintain the match at the Stade de France, despite calls for its cancellation or relocation.
