French students involved in pro-Palestinian activism say they have faced arrests, fines, disciplinary proceedings and police intervention during demonstrations against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Students in Paris organised large protests on university campuses in 2024 and 2025 against Israel’s brutal attacks on Gaza.
Several demonstrations drew international media attention after police intervened, while some students were detained, fined, referred to disciplinary bodies and reported to prosecutors.
At a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Sorbonne University in May 2024, 88 activists, including students, were detained.
More recently, students staged protests in Paris on April 14 against the proposed Yadan bill, which they said would punish anti-Zionist activism on university campuses.
Participants said four students were detained and more than 70 others were fined €400 ($464) each. The bill was withdrawn on 16 April.
In interviews with Anadolu, students described what they said was growing pressure on pro-Palestinian activism.
“We can now see that the state is trying to attack us financially rather than through detentions, as it did one or two years ago,” said Rania, a French student and member of the Sorbonne University Palestine Committee.
Rania said violence against students participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations continued and that police could stop and detain students without difficulty.
She said fines imposed after the 14 April protest exceeded $41,000 (€35,000).
According to Rania, students are calling on universities to sever ties with companies and Israeli universities that they believe are complicit in genocide in Gaza.
She alleged that Sorbonne University cooperates with French arms companies and Israeli universities that support military activities.
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Rania said students also want France to end cooperation with those entities and address the obstacles facing Gazan students seeking to continue their education in the country.
“I don’t think there are other issues facing this level of repression, at least during my lifetime,” she said.
“Even police entering universities and detaining students could be considered a historic event because there is really no precedent for it.”
