PARIS, France: Students at one of France’s most prestigious universities on Friday called off their protest over the Gaza war after street clashes broke out between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups.
With the spread of demonstrations in American universities due to the Gaza war, the administrators at the Institute of Political Studies, or Sciences Po, university in Paris took action to quell the growing tensions in the Paris establishment.
The pro-Palestinian students staged a sit-in and demonstration in this 150-year-old university for several days. The entrances to the university were blocked in some areas and protest tents were erected in the central courtyard.
Hundreds of students rallied on Friday, and when about 50 pro-Israel demonstrators arrived shouting, police were called and a fight broke out.
With exams due to begin soon, the university announced that pro-Palestinian students had agreed to suspend their activities in exchange for an “internal debate” over the university’s relationship with Israel.
University officials also agreed to drop all disciplinary action against the protesters, according to a memo sent to students and faculty by Jean Basseres, Sciences Po’s administrator.
Sciences Po has a joint study programme with New York’s Columbia University, and several French students have joined protests at one of America’s most radical institutions.
According to media reports, until Friday night, the protests in Paris had subsided and the streets outside were calm.
Leaders of the protests, which have called for an investigation into Sciences Po’s affiliation with Israeli government-sponsored universities and institutions, said they were satisfied with the promise of internal dialogue.
After Israel and the United States, France has the largest Jewish population in the world and is also home to the largest Muslim community in Europe.
