The French president, Emmanuel Macron, called this Thursday for unity in the face of what is happening in Israel, has shown his solidarity with Israel and has said that Paris will do everything possible to ensure that the 17 missing Frenchmen (most of them are suspected of being hostages of Hamas) “return safely.” He has also issued a warning to those who “confuse the Palestinian cause with the justification of terrorism: they commit a moral, serious and strategic fault,” he said, clearly referring to La Francia Insumisa, a left-wing party whose ambiguity when it comes to condemning Hamas’s attacks have bothered the rest of the parties.
In a televised message, the president confirmed the death of 13 national citizens in the country. It is the first time that he has expressed himself after the Hamas attacks last Saturday, although, along with other European leaders, he had already shown his solidarity with Israel.
Before the message, Macron had met with the opposition parties, a meeting, he said, “of pluralism, harmony and unity.” It lasted two hours and the formations conveyed to Macron his concern about the fate of the missing. He has let them know that “communications with intermediaries” have been established to try to free them. Paris’s position is not to negotiate with terrorists.
“In the moment we live in, we must condemn terrorism and denounce all forms of hatred,” Macron said in a message that barely lasted 10 minutes. Macron wanted to convey an image of unity, at a time when anti-Semitic attacks are increasing in the country (a hundred since Saturday) and, above all, after the controversy opened by the radical left party La Francia Insumisa (LFI). , which has not labeled Hamas a terrorist group or explicitly condemned the attacks. This position has caused a lot of controversy and has deepened the fracture within the left-wing coalition that they lead in the Assembly, of which the Socialist Party is also a part.
France fears that the conflict will be imported into its territory: Since Saturday, there have been a hundred anti-Semitic acts and 41 arrests for them, as confirmed by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin. The largest Jewish community in Europe lives in France: half a million people. There are also 10% Muslims. According to Darmanin, there is currently no terrorist threat.
To avoid incidents, the minister has decided to prohibit all pro-Palestinian demonstrations that are organized and has ordered the arrest of people who, despite this order, organize rallies in this regard. This Thursday one was planned in Paris. Many people have gathered in the Plaza de la República, where the police have had to intervene.
Meanwhile, the anguish of the relatives of the missing French-Israeli citizens grows. They held a press conference this Thursday in Tel Aviv, where they asked Emmanuel Macron for help and implored him to “intervene for the release” of those held captive. Among the people whose whereabouts are unknown are four children, according to the latest Foreign Affairs report. The first Air France plane to repatriate French expatriates left Tel Aviv this Thursday. There are 200,000 French people in the country.
