By Julien Pretot
DIEULEFIT, France (Reuters) -Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists waved flags and unfurled banners on Wednesday as the Tour de France peloton rode through Dieulefit, a southeastern French town honoured as a “Town of the Just” for sheltering Jewish people during World War Two.
A house was draped with Palestinian flags and protesters waved dozens more by the roadside. Cries of “Free Palestine” echoed through the town, as the riders cycled through. One banner read “Affamer c’est tuer”, meaning “Starving is killing”.
Vanessa Huguenin, who runs a family-owned department store in Dieulefit, a town of about 3,000 people, said the action had been planned for nearly two months to take advantage of the Tour’s visibility.
“We can’t change Israel or Hamas, but we want our government to act, not just say ‘it’s not good’,” she said.
Such protests about international politics are relatively rare in the three-week annual race, in which fans line the route as the riders tackle daily stages. A small protest over the war in Gaza occurred during the first stage of last year’s edition.
A man was also arrested last Wednesday in Toulouse after running onto the final straight of the stage wearing a T-shirt reading “Israel out of the Tour” and waving a black and white keffiyeh headdress.
Through a loudspeaker on Wednesday, a protester shouted: “Mr Adams, spokesperson for a genocidal army,” referring to Sylvan Adams, co-owner of the Israel-Premier Tech cycling team competing in the race. The protester called for the team to be kicked out.
Israel has repeatedly rejected that its military operation in Gaza amounts to genocide.
“Israel-Premier Tech respects everyone’s right to free speech which includes the right to protest,” said a statement from Israel-Premier Tech, which is Israel’s first elite cycling team, founded in 2014.
“Our focus is on racing and we continue to work closely with race organisers and relevant parties to ensure that any protests do not jeopardise team members’ safety, nor impact races, or our right to participate.”
The team have been granted extra security on the Tour, with police officers by the team bus and they were escorted by plain-clothed officers at the team’s presentation in Lille.
‘PROTECTING EVERYONE’
Huguenin, 45, said the town’s history inspired residents to act and said the protest had been peaceful.
“Here we say no one is a stranger. My grandparents hid people during the war. For us, being ‘just’ means protecting everyone, regardless of race or religion,” she said.
The war between Israel and Hamas has been raging for nearly two years since the Palestinian militant group killed some 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages from southern Israel in the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, Israeli tallies show.
Israel has since killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, Gaza’s health ministry says. It has decimated Hamas as a military force, reduced most of the territory to ruins and forced nearly the entire population to flee their homes multiple times.
The man arrested last Wednesday said he was due to stand trial for endangering the riders and refusing to give his fingerprints. He says the security officer who tackled him threw his walkie-talkie at him.
Race organisers Amaury Sports Organisation declined to comment about either protest.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Alison Williams)
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