Free Paristein!
The young people in those streets did not come out of nowhere. The last 20 years did real damage.
On October 17, 2026, a Palestinian flag was raised at the Monument à la République in central Paris, replacing the French flag. The French flag was removed by a crowd cheering below, with a burning car nearby. By midday, over 140 protests had been reported across the country, with more than 32,000 people in the streets. Hundreds were arrested, with the town hall in Marseille breached and the tourist office in Lyon set on fire.
The protests initially began over teacher shortages and crumbling school buildings, but the focus shifted to Palestine. Despite the lack of an active war in Gaza and the holding of a ceasefire, the protests took on a different tone. France, among Western countries, had called for a Palestinian state. The protests were fueled by a mix of factors, including economic challenges, anti-globalism, racism, and competing economic ideologies.
The parallels drawn with historical events emphasize that what is happening today is not new, but rather a cyclical pattern of mass movements arising from economic unrest and societal frustration.
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