Palestinian flags fly in France, UK as thousands protest ‘genocide’ in Italy

More than 80 town halls in France hoisted the Palestinian flag on Monday in defiance of a government warning not to do so. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday recognised a Palestinian state, leading a UN summit that already spurred other Western governments to take the landmark step that has infuriated Israel. “The time for […]

More than 80 town halls in France hoisted the Palestinian flag on Monday in defiance of a government warning not to do so.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday recognised a Palestinian state, leading a UN summit that already spurred other Western governments to take the landmark step that has infuriated Israel.

“The time for peace has come, as we are just moments away from no longer being able to seize it,” Macron told the summit.

Palestinian flags were raised at town halls in major cities across France – including in Lyon, Nantes, Rennes and Besancon – in defiance of an order by Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. Even in Paris, left-wing city councillors put up the flag for 30 minutes at the city hall, despite opposition from Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo.

The interior ministry said that 86 town halls out of 34,875 across the country had flown the Palestinian flag.

France is home to Western Europe’s largest Jewish population, about half a million people, as well as a significant Muslim community sensitive to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

“Our responsibility is to reject silence and to do everything in our power, here and now, to put an end to the horror,” Nathalie Appere, the Socialist mayor of Rennes, said in a statement.

The Palestinian and Israeli flags, as well as peace images of a dove and olive branch, were displayed late Sunday at the Eiffel Tower, which was illuminated in celebration of the recognition of the Palestinian state.

Palestinian mission in London raises flag

A flag-raising ceremony was held outside the Palestinian mission in London on Monday, a day after the UK announced it would recognise the State of Palestine, along with Australia, Canada and Portugal.

Head of Mission Husam Zomlot hailed the “long overdue” recognition as the flag was raised in front of a crowd outside the building in Hammersmith in west London.

Holding up a plaque reading “Embassy of the State of Palestine”, Zomlot said it would be put up soon, “pending some legal work, some bureaucratic work”.

He called the recognition move an “acknowledgement of a historic injustice” at a time of “unimaginable suffering” for the Palestinian people in the war in Gaza.

He said the UK’s recognition had particular resonance as Britain was pivotal in laying the groundwork for the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, through the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Palestinian Authority could now “set up an embassy and an ambassador in the UK”.

“We will set out the diplomatic steps with the Palestinian Authority; there will be a series of different stages and processes to go through,” Cooper told the BBC.

“On that practical side, the most important thing is that it’s part of that process to keep everyone working towards a two-state solution,” she added.

Following Sunday’s announcement, Britain’s foreign ministry updated its travel advice page to remove the reference to “Occupied Palestinian territories”, replacing it with “Palestine”.

Tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian demos in Italy

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people protested on Monday across Italy as part of a day of action to “denounce the genocide in Gaza”, with blockades, strikes and marches that descended into clashes with police in Milan.

Italy’s hard-right government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said it will not recognise a Palestinian state for now.

In Rome, some 20,000 people gathered in front of the main Termini train station, according to local police, many of them students, shouting “Free Palestine!” and holding up Palestinian flags.

Some had marched via the Colosseum, those at the front holding up a giant banner saying “Against Genocide. Let’s block everything.”

At Termini station, Michelangelo, 17, told AFP he was there to support “a population that is being exterminated”.

Francesca Tecchia, 18, was protesting “for the first time”, because “what is happening (in Gaza) is too important”, she said.

“Italy must come to a standstill today,” said Federica Casino, a 52-year-old worker protesting with the students for Gaza’s “dead children and destroyed hospitals”.

“Italy talks but does nothing,” she said.

In the northern city of Milan, where organisers said 50,000 people turned out, protesters burned a US flag, an AFP reporter saw.

Some demonstrators clashed with anti-riot police at Milan’s central train station, with police throwing teargas and protestors launching projectiles and smashing windows, an AFP photographer saw.

In Bologna, more than 10,000 took to the streets, according to local police, with a group of demonstrators blocking the motorway before being dispersed by water cannons.

Protests also took place in Turin, Florence, Naples and Sicily, while in Genoa and Livorno, dock workers blockaded port entrances, according to Italian media.

The USB union organised a 24-hour national strike to demand that the government break off relations with Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Local buses and the metro service were disrupted in Rome, while national train operators also warned of delays and cancellations.

Meloni’s government, which is ideologically close to US President Donald Trump, has condemned Israel’s relentless assault on the besieged Palestinian territory.