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AP; AFP. 5 March 2003. Thousands march in anti-war protests in France; Paris anti-war rally binds US, Iraqi, Palestinian citizens in common cause. PARIS -- Some 7,000 students, politicians and others marched through the streets of Paris on Wednesday to declare their opposition to war with Iraq, part of a series of anti-war protests around the world. Smaller marches were held by students in more than a half-dozen French cities, from Rennes to Marseille. "No to War with Iraq, Justice and Peace in the Middle East" read the huge protest banner at the head of the march from the Luxembourg Gardens, near the student Latin Quarter, to Place d'Italie. Students shouted "money for school, not for an oil war," "French veto at the U.N." and "Bush, Blair, we don't want war." Iraqis and Americans, pro-Palestinians and French Jewish associations, festive students and torch-bearing grandmothers turned out in Paris Wednesday to protest against war on Iraq, in a show of global resistance to US plans for military action. High school and university students, marching by the thousands, chanted and danced their way down the Boulevard Saint Michel from the Luxembourg Gardens in a festive mood, no doubt boosted by the general daylong boycott of classes. The world beats of peace marchers -- reggae, Arabic singing and Manu Chao, the leftist French crooner who sings in Spain and is beloved of anti-globalization protestors -- washed over hundreds of casual observers as each group advanced down the street. The march, which gathered up to 20,000 people, according to police estimates, notably linked the Iraqi crisis to the need for peace between Palestinians and Israelis. "We're protesting on behalf of Iraqis, but also for Palestinians and Israelis," said Richard Wagman, head of the International Jewish Union for Peace. "(Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon is Bush's ally. So we must fear the worst." A group of marchers floated a gigantic Palestinian flag, which spanned the boulevard, while others blasted Arabic music and chanted "We are all Palestinians." Jacques, climbing out of the metro to join the protestors, found it was "a good day for a protest". Describing himself as a "Christian activist," he said: "Lent begins today, and Pope John Paul II called for global action today to oppose war." Charleux, a teacher of immigrant children from the capital's underprivileged suburbs, slammed Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair's use of moral rhetoric to defend their campaign against Saddam. "Peace and religion cannot be used as weapons against people," she said. A group of 30 Iraqis waved their starred flags silently and moved forward in the peace rally, not far from a contingent of France-based US citizens. Julie Warden, who has lived here for 25 years, denied that anti-US sentiment had mounted since the beginning of the crisis. When her Americans Against War on Iraq group marches in rallies, she said, "People applaud us. They're against Bush, but so are we." Meanwhile, an American waved a sign marked: "No! No! We won't go! We won't fight for Texaco!" Among those joining students in the Paris march were the national secretary of the French Communist Party and former Sports Minister Marie-George Buffet and Jean-Pierre Chevenement, a former defense minister who left his post in protest when France joined the international coalition in the 1991 Gulf War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ProletarianNews http://www.utopia2000.org with photo --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bdn7KI.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. FREE! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/create/index2.html ==^================================================================
