Three people injured at pro-Palestinian conference in southwestern France

Police and emergency vehicles were called to Lyon’s medieval quarter on Saturday night, after ultra-right-wing activists tried to force their way into a conference on Palestine, according to local authorities.

Witnesses in Vieux Lyon said they saw dozens of people armed with iron bars, dressed in black with partially masked faces, targeting a building in the Saint-Georges area where the Palestine 69 Collective was hosting a meeting on the war in Gaza. Approximately 120 people were at the event.

According to the authorities, the injured participants were transported to hospital and one of the attackers was arrested.

The mayor of Lyon, Grégory Doucet, condemned the attack on the social media platform X: “The Maison des passages has once again been the target of a far-right group. These attacks organised by small ultraviolent groups are unacceptable. I want to express my support for the victims,” he wrote.

Christophe Oberlin, a surgeon and author from Gaza, who came to present two books and discuss current events with the public, said people “knocked with sticks” and tried to break down the door of the room but failed to enter.

The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, also “very firmly” condemned the violence and said an investigation was underway.

Jérôme Faÿnel, the president of Palestine 69, said he alerted the authorities during the attack.

“We found ourselves in a mousetrap,” said one distressed participant, “We put a lot of things to barricade the door.”

According to attendees, at least one window was broken.