Lyon, France: Successful support rally for Alex!
We hereby share an unofficial translation of a report published by La Cause du Peuple.
Following the call of the People’s Committee for Mutual Aid and Solidarity in the États-Unis neighborhood of Lyon (8th district), a support rally for Alex took place. In response to the repression faced by this activist for Palestine, nearly 60 people gathered in front of the Henry Longchambon middle school.
Alex, a supervisor in his second year at this school, was not only arrested upon his arrival at the airport and searched at home, but he was also suspended from his job for four months. He will go on trial on May 15.
In the face of this anti-democratic injustice, the residents of the neighborhood and the Popular Committee for Mutual Aid and Solidarity (CPES) decided to react without delay. Dozens of banners and hundreds of posters were put up throughout the neighborhood, and this rally was organized. The Palestine Collective 69 was present, as well as members of the CGT FNIC from Biomérieux, members of the Ligue de la Jeunesse Révolutionnaire, and of course many residents of the neighborhood, including numerous middle school students.
For many years, the CPES has mobilized to support and defend the Palestinian people and Georges Abdallah, so it was only natural for this rally to take place for them.
This rally was made possible by the determination of those present. Indeed, the school administration decided to close the establishment three hours before the scheduled end of classes upon the announcement of the rally, despite the class schedule and class councils, in order to prevent students from protesting. The police were, of course, called. They arrived in front of the school an hour before the rally and prohibited the students already present from gathering, telling them that the rally was forbidden. Despite these cowardly attempts to prevent the gathering, it took place and was a success.
Supervisor Alex was able to speak and reaffirm his unwavering support for the Palestinian people and Georges Abdallah, even as the genocide intensifies in Gaza with the resumption of massive bombings by Israel, which murdered over 500 Palestinians in just one night the day before yesterday. These crimes are committed with complete disregard for all human considerations, and Israel is simultaneously intensifying colonization in the West Bank. As Alex reminded, this rally is primarily for the Palestinian people, and his case is just one among many attempts to silence voices that publicly denounce the ongoing genocide.
We also think of the situation of Timothée Esprit, federal secretary of the CGT FNIC, who was fired by his employer Toray following his support for Palestine. After a hard-fought struggle lasting several months, Toray was forced to reinstate Timothée Esprit. But 30 minutes after his return to the company, he was summoned to be dismissed.
The criminalization of any opposition—whether during the pension reform, in support of Palestine, or tomorrow for refusing to go and die in a war for the interests of the bourgeoisie—reminds us of the importance of strengthening the fight against the bourgeoisie by developing and multiplying this kind of initiative throughout France. To touch one of us is to touch all of us!
As Alex reminded during his speech: “Yes, supporting the resistance of the Palestinian people is not a crime, and we will shout it loud and clear despite all their threats and arrests. We are absolutely on the side of the Palestinian resistance until the liberation of all of Palestine!” His intervention was supported by a member of the CGT FNIC from Biomérieux, who reminded everyone that “during World War II, those we now call resistors were labeled terrorists! And we know who was right at the end.”
The rally then dispersed, after thanking all those present. New mobilizations until Alex’s readmission have been already announced.
