French police prevented two boats belonging to the "Freedom Flotilla" bound for the Gaza Strip from docking along the Seine River in Paris on Sunday, as they began sailing toward the Palestinian coastal enclave in an attempt to breach Israel's naval blockade.
Dozens of supporters waving Palestinian flags and chanting "Stop the massacre of Palestinians" gathered by the Seine to greet two of the four flotilla boats as they passed through Paris, escorted by French river police.
According to the honorary president of the France-Palestine Solidarity Association Taoufiq Tahani, French police carried out extensive searches of the boats earlier in the day before prohibiting them from docking.
"We were unfortunately surprised," he said. "We didn't know that Israeli waters now begin in the Seine in Paris. That's unimaginable."
Israel and Egypt both maintain a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel has in the past stopped other boats from reaching its shores, saying that goods shipped into Gaza are often used as weapons to attack Israel.
