Protests in France Against the Yadan Law
Featured image: Bloc of the International Anti-imperialist League (AIL) – France in a demonstration against the Yadan Law. Source: AIL.
Several actions and protests have taken place across France over the past weeks, protesting a bill that targets the solidarity with Palestine. The bill was first introduced in November 2024 by Caroline Yadan, the vice-president of the France-Israel Friendship Group in the French bourgeois parliament. The bill claims to address the “resurgence of antisemitic acts in France”, but actually aims to quell the criticism of Israel, imposing censorship and criminalization on the pro-Palestine movement.
Members of the French bourgeois Parliament will discuss the proposal between today and tomorrow. If passed, the law in its current form will broaden the definition of “terrorist apologism”, criminalizing the pro-Palestine position and making illegal the call for “destruction” of any country recognized by France. La Cause du Peuple explains: “It is freedom of expression and freedom of opinion that are under direct attack. Faced with this threat to our democratic rights, the struggle is organizing.”
Protests across France have taken place, as reported on the website of the recently founded International Anti-imperialist League (AIL), where AIL-France, activists of the recently reconstituted Communist Youth and other organizations participated.
La Cause du Peuple has recently reported on more actions. On Monday, April 13th, at the call from the “War on War” coalition, dozens of anti-imperialist activists and trade unionists participated in a blockade of the headquarters of the weaponry company, Thales, in the Île-de-France region to protest against the French arms industry’s military support for Israel in the genocide being carried out in Gaza. The French State unleashed brutal violence to evict the activists.
On Tuesday, April 14, students mobilized by striking at the heart of universities such as the Sciences Po Paris, Centrale Supélec, and the Sorbonne. In the case of the Sorbonne, lecture halls and classrooms were gradually evacuated to prepare for the eviction of the occupants, but faced with such a number of students mobilized, it took the administration five hours to completely evacuate the Sorbonne. Outside, a gathering of over 150 people quickly formed to support the occupation and delay police intervention. The bourgeois State needed to deploy around a hundred riot police officers to clear the entrance.
