More than 180,000 march in France against antisemitism amid Israel-Hamas war
November 12, 2023 / 4:17 PM EST / AP More than 180,000 people across France, including 100,000 in Paris, marched peacefully on Sunday to protest against rising antisemitism in the wake of Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, representatives of several parties on the left, conservatives and centrists of President Emmanuel Macron's party as well as far-right leader Marine Le Pen attended Sunday's march in the French capital amid tight security.
Macron did not attend, but expressed his support for the protest and called on citizens to rise up against "the unbearable resurgence of unbridled antisemitism." However, the leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, stayed away from the march, saying last week on X, formerly Twitter, that the march would be a meeting of "friends of unconditional support for the massacre" in Gaza. March against Antisemitism in Paris Senate President Gerard Larcher, President of the National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, former President Nicolas Sarkozy, and former President Francois Hollande, take part in a march against antisemitism in Paris, France on November 12, 2023. Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images The interior ministry said at least 182,000 people marched in several in French cities in response to the call launched by the leaders of the parliament's upper and lower houses. No major incident has been reported, it said.
Paris authorities deployed 3,000 police troops along the route of the protest called by the leaders of the Senate and parliament's lower house, the National Assembly, amid an alarming increase in anti-Jewish acts in France since the start of Israel's war against Hamas after its Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel. France has the largest Jewish population in Europe, but given its own World War II collaboration with the Nazis, antisemitic acts today open old scars. Holding a French flag, Robert Fiel said marching against antisemitism is "more than a duty." "It's a march against violence, against antisemitism, against all (political extremes) that are infiltrating the society, to show that the silent majority does exist," the 67-year-old said.
Family members of some of the 40 French citizens killed in the initial Hamas attack, and of those missing or held hostage, also took part in the march, which Paris police said drew 105,000 participants. Patrick Klugman, a lawyer and a member of "Freethem" committee working to obtain the release of people held by Hamas and other groups in Gaza, said the large participation in the march is meaningful and symbolic in reassuring Jewish communities in France. "I am very proud of my country because of this mobilization," Klugman said. "I feel less alone than in the past weeks and days."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-march-against-antisemitism-paris/
November 12, 2023 / 4:17 PM EST / AP More than 180,000 people across France, including 100,000 in Paris, marched peacefully on Sunday to protest against rising antisemitism in the wake of Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, representatives of several parties on the left, conservatives and centrists of President Emmanuel Macron's party as well as far-right leader Marine Le Pen attended Sunday's march in the French capital amid tight security.
Macron did not attend, but expressed his support for the protest and called on citizens to rise up against "the unbearable resurgence of unbridled antisemitism." However, the leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, stayed away from the march, saying last week on X, formerly Twitter, that the march would be a meeting of "friends of unconditional support for the massacre" in Gaza. March against Antisemitism in Paris Senate President Gerard Larcher, President of the National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, former President Nicolas Sarkozy, and former President Francois Hollande, take part in a march against antisemitism in Paris, France on November 12, 2023. Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images The interior ministry said at least 182,000 people marched in several in French cities in response to the call launched by the leaders of the parliament's upper and lower houses. No major incident has been reported, it said.
Paris authorities deployed 3,000 police troops along the route of the protest called by the leaders of the Senate and parliament's lower house, the National Assembly, amid an alarming increase in anti-Jewish acts in France since the start of Israel's war against Hamas after its Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel. France has the largest Jewish population in Europe, but given its own World War II collaboration with the Nazis, antisemitic acts today open old scars. Holding a French flag, Robert Fiel said marching against antisemitism is "more than a duty." "It's a march against violence, against antisemitism, against all (political extremes) that are infiltrating the society, to show that the silent majority does exist," the 67-year-old said.
Family members of some of the 40 French citizens killed in the initial Hamas attack, and of those missing or held hostage, also took part in the march, which Paris police said drew 105,000 participants. Patrick Klugman, a lawyer and a member of "Freethem" committee working to obtain the release of people held by Hamas and other groups in Gaza, said the large participation in the march is meaningful and symbolic in reassuring Jewish communities in France. "I am very proud of my country because of this mobilization," Klugman said. "I feel less alone than in the past weeks and days."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-march-against-antisemitism-paris/