French police have arrested four people over protests that disrupted a concert by Israel’s national orchestra at the Paris Philharmonic music hall, a prosecutor said on Friday.
Several spectators repeatedly interrupted Thursday evening’s concert given by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, including twice setting off smoke, the venue said.
The visit by Israel’s leading orchestra had drawn criticism from several groups ahead of the event, over the country’s conduct during its two-year military offensive in Gaza and its severe restrictions on allowing aid into to the occupied Palestinian territory.
The Paris Philharmonic said it had filed a complaint over the disruption, adding it “deplores and strongly condemns the serious incidents that occurred”.
On three occasions, individuals who had purchased tickets attempted to disrupt the concert and fellow spectators intervened, the concert venue said.
The protesters were removed and the concert allowed to resume peacefully, it added.
A French prosecutor said on Friday that three women and one man were in custody over the incident.
Israel has come under intense international criticism for its actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
It launched its military offensive on Gaza in retaliation for the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel by militants from Palestinian group Hamas that resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza has so far killed more than 68,500 Palestinians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
UN investigators have accused Israel of committing genocide and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the target of an International Court of Justice arrest warrant to answer charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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© Agence France-Presse
