French authorities said 19,000 people demonstrated in Paris, while the CGT communist-led trade union put the numbers at 60,000.
“Free Palestine” placards proliferated in the French capital, where slogans were heard calling for a boycott of Israel along with shouts of “Israel terrorist state”.
Legal assistant Leila Gharbi, aged 46, held a Palestinian flag and demanded “an immediate ceasefire”.
Her 21 year old student daughter Ines wanted “the barbary to stop”.
Retired 75 year old Algerian Keltoum Alouache said she turned out “for the children of Gaza and Palestine”.
Around forty other demonstrations were called across France, with 5,000 people turning out in the city of Lyon, according to a police estimate.
Berlin and Duesseldorf also saw thousands march in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Many protesters came with their families and children.
“Stop genocide” and “Ceasefire” were emblazoned on placards and Palestinian flags were carried aloft.
German police estimated the crowd at 17,000 in Duesseldorf and 9,000 in the capital Berlin, where some 60 arrests were made including on suspicion of incitement to hatred.
Several placards playing down the Holocaust were confiscated.
In Tehran, demonstrators gathered in front of the former US embassy chanting “Down with USA” and “Down with Israel”.
They set ablaze an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu as well as the US and Israel flags in front of flag-waving crowds.
The demonstrations come on the Islamic republic’s “day of the fight against global arrogance”.
November 4 marks the day Iranians attacked the US embassy in 1979 and the taking of 52 American diplomats as hostages, which lasted 444 days.
Iran, which backs Hamas, has labelled the Israeli bombardment of Gaza “genocide” and lambasted Washington for its strong support of Israel.
Source: CNA
