Ceremonies are being organized this Monday to pay tribute to the victims of the October 7 attacks, in Israel and elsewhere in the world. In France, some 4,000 people are expected this Monday evening at the Paris Dôme for this ceremony “in tribute to the victims” and “in support of the hostages still held captive”, where videos and photos of hostages will be broadcast. This moment of reflection and commemoration is organized by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (Crif) in the presence of several ministers and the head of government Michel Barnier.
Among those present will also be former President Nicolas Sarkozy and various personalities from the entertainment world should also respond to Crif’s invitation. Families of hostages will also be there, after meeting the head of state Emmanuel Macron.
“It was also a French shock”
On Sunday, the tributes began with a rally at the initiative of the Jewish National Fund (KKL) to express “solidarity with the State of Israel in its fight against Islamist terrorism” and to pay tribute to the victims. Other gatherings took place in Clermont-Ferrand, Marseille… In a country which is home to the largest Jewish community in Europe (with nearly half a million people), the shock wave remains strong and many French Jews testify to a feeling of loneliness and incomprehension.
“October 7 was obviously an earthquake for Israel, but it was also a French shock,” says Crif president Yonathan Arfi, who deplores the surge in anti-Semitism since that date. A total of 887 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in the first half of the year, which represents an almost tripling over one year, according to the Ministry of the Interior. For the president of Crif, the responsibility is clear: LFI “has hysterized the public debate around the question of Gaza” and its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon “gave political backing to anti-Semitism in our country”.
In this electoral year, the radical left has in fact made the conflict one of its main campaign themes, with sometimes controversial positions, as when Jean-Luc Mélenchon judged anti-Semitism to be “residual” in France. The rebellious leader called this Friday to “put Palestinian flags wherever possible”, in reaction to a circular from Minister Patrick Hetzel on “maintaining order” in universities.
At the same time, the National Rally posed itself as the “best bulwark” for the Jews, marching in the major demonstration against anti-Semitism on November 12 and attracting the indulgence of Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld.
Rallies for Gaza
As the conflict spreads to Lebanon and threatens to engulf the entire Middle East, emotions are also running high among Muslims in France. A week ago, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris Chems-eddine Hafiz denounced “the inhuman madness ravaging Gaza”. Several thousand people marched this Saturday in Paris and in several cities in France to mark their “solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people” and ask the French government to act more.
The unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 in Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures, including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip. Of the 251 people kidnapped then, 97 are still hostages in Gaza, including 33 considered dead.
More than 41,870 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign of retaliation on the Gaza Strip, the majority civilians, according to data from the Hamas government’s Health Ministry for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN. According to the Israeli army, 348 of its soldiers have been killed in the military campaign on Gaza since the ground offensive began on October 27.
This Saturday, Emmanuel Macron, for his part, called for an end to deliveries to Israel of weapons used in Gaza, arousing the anger of the Israeli Prime Minister.