For a second year in a row, the giant balloons and party floats had to navigate another obstacle: protesters. As the procession made its way down West 55th Street, a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators entered the parade route, briefly blocking a gigantic balloon representing McDonald's restaurant mascot, the red-headed clown Ronald McDonald. They sought to remind parade-goers of the human toll of Israel's ongoing war in Gaza.
Several sat cross-legged on the wet pavement, holding up small Palestinian flags. McDonald's, the fast-food chain whose balloon they blocked, has been the subject of an ongoing boycott after a subsidiary in Israel announced free meals for Israeli military members after the start of the war. The chain has distanced itself from that effort, pointing out that the decision was made by a local franchise.
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