“Don't spend New Year's Eve without thinking about Palestine”: activist gathering in Montpellier

Last demonstration of the year 2024 for all the associations that have been organizing rallies in favor of Palestine for a year and a half. Midi Libre – Florence Guilhem

At the call of the Fédération de La Libre Pensée 34, activists from the various associations supporting Palestine gathered on December 31, at the bottom of rue de la Loge, in Montpellier.

For the last day of the year 2024, the Free Thought Federation 34, with the AFSP, the UJFP, UP, Attac, the ADPR… and the support of BDS, organized a rally to support Palestine and its people. Instructions were given to bring candles and flags.

First surprise for all the activists: the police force put in place to ensure that the order issued on December 30 by the prefect of Hérault, namely the ban on any static gathering on the Place de la Comédie, is strictly respected. “The prefecture clearly has a militant stance towards us. We are subject to fines, convictions, bans on demonstrating and tonight we are faced with a police force that makes us look like delinquents“, denounces Alban Desoutter, secretary of the Fédération La Libre Pensée 34.

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“We wanted to make a mark”

The meeting point was therefore at the gates of Place de la Comédie, at the bottom of Rue de la Loge. And the activists were asked by the police to stay on this street and not to block the passage. This did not prevent them from speaking out about the situation in Palestine, “with a people dying before our eyes in indifference general“, continues Alban Desoutter.

Before adding: “We wanted to mark the occasion this December 31st, and especially not spend a New Year's Eve without thinking about Palestine. And this is all the more so in light of recent events that have occurred, including the destruction of the Kamal hospital, the ongoing bombings in Gaza and the West Bank, the Israeli army's incursions into Syria and the truce that is not really one in Lebanon“, he continues.

So, because it is out of the question for them to “look away“, and because the tragedy continues, “we will not give up until the Palestinian people are crushed“, he concludes. See you in 2025 for new gatherings. Whatever the location chosen in Montpellier, the mobilization will not weaken.