Demonstrations held across France on Wednesday against austerity measures took on a different character at the Place de la République in Paris. While some protesters raised concerns over possible cuts to social programmes, the square became a stage for broader political messages, with Palestinian flags and chants of “Free Palestine” more visible than French tricolours.
The central statue of Marianne—representing liberty, equality, and fraternity—was at the heart of attention. A large Palestinian flag was spray-painted on its surface, while others—their faces covered by Palestinian keffiyehs—splashed red paint onto the eyes of stone children at the base.
A passerby, unsettled by the scene, remarked
Anarchists dancing on the statue of Marianne … I am leaving, this cannot be modern France.
Alongside Palestinian flags, banners carrying Marxist slogans such as Che Guevara’s “Hasta la victoria siempre” appeared in the crowd.
Many young people voiced frustration not only about austerity but also about President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership. Obscene slogans denouncing the French president were visible across the square, with protesters denouncing his recent appointment of former Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu as France’s fifth prime minister in less than two years.
President Macron’s recent promise to recognise a Palestinian state has emboldened activists, but for the radical Left, even that announcement was dismissed as “insufficient.”
