A masked youth takes part in the occupation of a building of the Sciences Po University and blocks the entry in support of Palestinians in Gaza, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Paris, France, April 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

The wave of anti-Israel demonstrations that has erupted on university campuses across the US over the past week has spread to Europe, engulfing one of France’s most prestigious academic institutions.

Students on Friday blocked access to buildings at the Sciences Po university in Paris, demanding the institution condemn Israel’s actions against the Hamas terror group in Gaza and calling on French President Emmanuel Macron to push for a ceasefire.

Chanting against Israel, the demonstrators displayed Palestinian flags at windows and over the school’s entrance. Many wore keffiyeh headscarves — which have become symbols of solidarity with Hamas-ruled Gaza and opposition to the Jewish state — while falsely accusing Israel of genocide.

According to witnesses cited by AFP, the protesters demanded that Sciences Po “cuts its ties with universities and companies that are complicit in the genocide in Gaza and end the repression of pro-Palestinian voices on campus.”

The Palestine Committee of Sciences Po, which helped organize the demonstration, said the university’s administration “stubbornly refuses to engage in genuine dialogue” and called for “a clear condemnation of Israel’s actions by Sciences Po,” among other demands.

“We hope that will spread to all universities and beyond,” a 20-year old masters student in public administration at Sciences Po told Reuters. “We won’t give in until the genocide in Gaza ends.”

Students also set up a “Gaza Solidarity” encampment on campus similar to what has been seen at several universities in North America. Indeed, the Sciences Po demonstration came amid a growing anti-Israel protest movement that has spread to dozens of university campuses in the US and Canada.

Since last week, college students have been amassing in the hundreds at a growing number of schools, taking over sections of campuses by setting up “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” and refusing to leave unless administrators condemn and boycott Israel. Footage of the protests has shown demonstrators chanting in support of Hamas, calling for the destruction of Israel, and even threatening to harm members of the Jewish community on campus.

At the Sciences Po, its interim director, Jean Basseres, condemned the blockade of the building in a letter to teachers.

A similar anti-Israel protest took place on Thursday before police arrived to break up the demonstration. According to Reuters, Basseres confirmed that on Wednesday night, police removed a first group of students, adding that he was in discussions with student representatives to find a solution to the latest blockade.

This week was not the first time that a pro-Hamas demonstration broke out at the Sciences Po.

Last month, French police prevented pro-Palestinian students at the Sciences Po from staging a demonstration. The clash came two days after a group of pro-Hamas students blockaded a lecture hall, allegedly preventing Jewish students from accessing the space. One Jewish student said she was met with cries of “she’s a Zionist, don’t let her in.”

The episode drew strong condemnation from leading French politicians, among them Macron, who denounced the protest as “unspeakable and completely intolerable.”

France has experienced an explosion of antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza. Antisemitic outrages rose by over 1,000 percent in the final three months of 2023 compared with the previous year, with over 1,200 incidents reported — greater than the total number of incidents in France for the previous three years combined.

As for the US, the Anti-Defamation League released a report last week showing antisemitic incidents rose 140 percent last year, reaching a record high. Most of the outrages occurred after Oct. 7, during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.