PARIS: French police used tear gas and water cannons to break up a banned rally in support of the Palestinian people in Paris on Thursday night as President Emmanuel Macron urged the French to remain united amid fears the conflict between Israel and Hamas would spill over into France. Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities.
In a prime-time televised address on Thursday, Macron urged the French to remain united after a Hamas attack on Israel on Saturday that killed 13 French citizens.
“Do not add, through illusion or calculation, national divisions to international divisions and let us not succumb to any form of hatred,” Macron said, adding that the number of Frenchmen killed in the Hamas invasion of Israel rose to 13.
17 French citizens, including four children, have been missing since the attack.
Macron vowed to do “everything” to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. “Tonight I am speaking to the families and I want to tell them that France is doing everything in its power with the Israeli authorities and our partners to bring them home safely, because France will never abandon its children,” he said.
Hamas was a terrorist organization that wanted the death of the Israeli people, Macron said, adding that the only way to resolve the current crisis in the Middle East is to provide Israel with security guarantees along with the creation of a Palestinian state.
Macron’s speech came amid increasing anti-Semitic attacks across France since the Hamas invasion of Israel on Saturday.
Responding to fears of the conflict spilling over into the Middle East, Macron pledged to protect all citizens on French soil. “Our first duty is to guarantee the safety of all our citizens in our territory and prevent any action, any word, that could stigmatize them,” he said. “I know many of you are afraid, and tonight I want to say it again: The Republic will be here to protect you.
France has Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish populations, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has contributed to tensions between the two countries in the past.
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Shortly before Macron’s speech, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced a ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, saying they were “likely to cause a disturbance of public order”.
Despite the ban, several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in separate groups in central Paris on Thursday evening. Police used tear gas and water cannon to prevent their fusion.
Protesters chanted “Israeli murderer” and “Macron’s accomplice”.
Since Saturday’s Hamas attack on Israeli cities in France, anti-Semitic acts have increased, killing more than 1,300 people.
Israel responded by launching the heaviest bombing campaign against Hamas-controlled Gaza in the 75-year history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, killing more than 1,200 people and destroying entire neighborhoods.
Darmanin said France had seen a surge in online hate, but also in more direct threats.
“Since Saturday and the terrorist massacres in Israel, there have been more than a hundred anti-Semitic acts, mainly signs and swastikas,” Darmanin told France Inter radio station, “but also insults… and people arrested with a knife at the school entrance.” or a synagogue… and a drone flying over a Jewish place of worship.”
24 people were arrested. The government has allocated 10,000 police officers to protect about 500 locations.
Darmanin said intelligence services had not seen any specific terrorist threats against France’s Jewish community, but that the threats could come from individuals rather than organized groups.
“The Palestinian cause is absolutely respectable, France has always thought that we need two states, Israeli and Palestinian … but if this is a demonstration of support for Hamas … then no,” he said.
