Police in Paris fired tear gas and used a water cannon on demonstrators flouting a ban on all pro-Palestinian protests.
Riot police moved in on Thursday evening after hundreds gathered in the Place de la République in the centre of Paris chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and holding up banners that said “End the siege of Gaza”.
It came after the French Government brought in a ban on such protests amid a rise in antisemitic acts since Hamas attacked Israel over the weekend.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin sent a directive to local administrations, calling for a further tightening of security around Jewish schools, synagogues and other sites.
In a televised address on Thursday night President Emmanuel Macron urged French people not to allow the war in the Middle East to erupt into tensions at home.
With several French-Israeli citizens believed held hostage by Hamas, Macron pledged that France would protect its Jewish citizens and be "ruthless toward all those who bear hate," and noted concerns about hostility toward France's Muslims too.
The French government has reported 24 arrests for more than 100 antisemitic acts in France since Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday, including verbal abuse, people caught with knives near Jewish schools and synagogues and a drone equipped with a camera spotted over a Jewish cultural center. More than 2,000 cases of antisemitic speech have been reported to an online watchdog force.
Fighting in the Middle East in the past has led to tensions in France, which is estimated to have the world's third-largest Jewish population after Israel and the US, and the largest Muslim population in Western Europe.
Macron said that 13 French citizens in Israel have been killed in the current fighting, with 17 people missing, many believed held hostage by Hamas. The Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation Thursday into the killings and suspected kidnappings.
With a pro-Palestinian march in London ton Saturday expected to attract thousands, Rishi Sunak urged police to use the “full force of the law” against protesters who committed hate crimes and supported Hamas.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered today in Tahrir Square in the centre of Baghdad to show support for Palestinians and protest the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
The protest was called by influential Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr.
Similar protests were expected in Lebanon, Syria and other Arab countries following afternoon prayers.
