Port workers in Marseille block weapons transport to Israel!

Port workers in Marseille block weapons transport to Israel!

In a remarkable turn in international trade union activism, port workers in Marseille and Piraeus have blocked against the loading of freight, which is presumably intended for the Israeli war machine. The activists from Marseille-Fos refused to load components for machine guns that were produced by a local company and were to be shipped to Haifa, Israel. The CGT union said that the workers reject this transport so as not to support the continued genocide that they attribute to the Israeli government. The affected container was finally located and provided, as reported newspaper of the work.

But the blockade actions are not limited to Marseille. In Greece, too, port workers in the port of Piraeus blocked the loading process of a container, the content of which was supposed to be ammunition for Israel. The ENENEP port workers' union said that they refuse to transport war material in order not to support the "genocide on the Palestinian people". The container, which was delivered to Greece from Northern Macedonia, should also go to Haifa. Markos Kris, the chairman of the union, emphasized the need to prevent such transports and reported that demonstrating at the harbor with slogans such as "Freedom for Palestine!" protested against weapons transport. Ultimately, the container was not loaded, such as n-tv reported.

a far -reaching sign of resistance

These actions of the port workers are part of a larger protest movement that is directed against the military disputes between Israel and Hamas, which have been romping on October 7, 2023 since the massacre. According to Palestinian, around 42,500 people in the Gaza Strip have already died since the beginning of the conflict. This dramatic loss of human life has motivated many workers and unions worldwide to take a position and actively commit themselves to supporting weapons to support the Israeli military actions.

Solidarity among the unions is unmistakable. Similar blockade actions have already been carried out in various European ports, including in Sweden and Greece. This shows that resistance to military support is united not only in a country, but across borders and is becoming increasingly important. With noteworthy courage and a strong awareness of the responsibility, these workers strive to assert their influence in order to protect humanitarian values.

It remains to be seen how the situation will develop and whether other port workers will join this global outcry. The world is looking forward to these developments and the sign that the port workers in Marseille and Piraeus put.