French society in the grip of conflict in the Middle East

It is a country sliding towards the turmoil it fears. Condemnations and calls by political and trade union activists for “apologies for terrorism” in the middle of the election campaign for the European elections; the ban on university conferences and even political meetings; profession Sciences Po, in Paris; media and social networks in fusion: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has engulfed the entire political, social and media sphere in France.

The announcement, on Tuesday, April 23, of the police summons of Mathilde Panot, president of the group La France insoumise (LFI), to the National Assembly, as part of the “terrorist apology” procedure, was the culmination of two weeks during which the conflict in the Middle East was imposed French society, fueling latent but already deep divisions. The introduction of tensions associated with the conflict, widely feared and pre-condemned by public authorities after the October 7, 2023 massacre, appears to have been well and truly spent. A look back at two defining weeks.

On Tuesday, April 16, three organizations – including the Association of Palestinians of France – represented by six lawyers, filed a lawsuit against X against a French-Israeli soldier for “torture, complicity in torture and war crimes” in Gaza. The complaint is based on a video, broadcast on the Telegram network, of a Palestinian prisoner, blindfolded, bare-chested and with a clearly torn back. The soldier comments ironically on the scene and congratulates himself, in French, on the torture. According to the information he gathered The worldabout fifty complaints could be filed against dual citizens serving in the Israeli army.

“Exaggerated Comments” by Jean-Luc Mélenchon

From the following week, echoes of the conflict reverberated through the University of Lille. Jean-Luc Mélenchon intends to hold a meeting there “Palestine News”, on April 18, along with French-Palestinian lawyer Rima Hassan, seventh on the list of “rebellious” Europeans. But the (socialist) deputy of Essonne, Jérôme Guedj, condemned on social media the poster of the conference which represents one state and because of this, according to him, Israel disappears.

Faced with the controversy, the university’s leadership, considering that the conditions for “to guarantee the tranquility of the debate”, cancels the conference. Enraged, the LFI leader compares the president of the University of Lille to former Nazi Adolf Eichmann, causing a general outcry, including from his partners in the New Ecological and Social People’s Union (Nupes): the communist leader Fabien Roussel criticizes him “his exaggerated comments”WHO “discredit everything else”.

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