100,000 march in Paris against hatred of Jews
Unlike Germany or the UK, Macron is calling for a halt to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. The French president is absent from the large demonstration against anti-Semitism in Paris. Instead, the right-wing populist Le Pen marched along.
More than 100,000 people took part in a large demonstration against anti-Semitism in Paris in the face of a significant rise in anti-Semitic incidents. Behind a large banner with the slogan "For the Republic, against anti-Semitism", the "Great March" set off in the French capital on Sunday. The right-wing populist Marine Le Pen also took part, but not the left-wing populist party La France Insoumise (LFI).
According to the Paris police headquarters, around 105,000 people joined the demonstration in the capital; according to the Ministry of the Interior, around 182,000 people took to the streets against anti-Semitism throughout France. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, the president of the Jewish umbrella organization Crif, Yonathan Arfi, as well as the two presidents of the National Assembly and Senate, Yaël Braun-Pivet and Gérard Larcher, on whose initiative the "great citizens' march" was based, led the large demonstration in Paris.
Several former prime ministers, religious representatives and numerous ministers were also represented in the front rows. President Emmanuel Macron did not take part in the Paris rally, but assured in advance that he would be there "in spirit". In a letter to the French people published by the newspaper "Le Parisien" on Saturday evening, Macron condemned the "intolerable resurgence of rampant anti-Semitism". "A France in which our Jewish fellow citizens are afraid is not France", Macron wrote. "A France where French people are afraid because of their religion or origin is not France." The march against anti-Semitism in Paris was intended to show that France is united "behind its values and universalism".
"Absence of the left speaks for itself"
Since the beginning of the war between the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Israel, the French authorities have registered almost 1,250 anti-Semitic crimes, including acts of violence as well as mobbing and graffiti. As France is home to both the largest Jewish and the largest Muslim community in Europe, there is great concern that the violence in the Middle East could spread to the country. According to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, more than 3,000 police officers were deployed to ensure security in Paris alone. Further rallies were planned in several cities and municipalities across the country.
The large-scale rally had already become a political issue in the run-up to the event. This was due to the boycott by the left-wing populist LFI and Le Pen's appeal to their supporters to take part in the "Great March". Before the start of the march, Prime Minister Borne wrote on the online service X (formerly Twitter) that the absence of the left "speaks for itself". However, the presence of Marine Le Pen and her Rassemblement National party "does not deceive anyone", she added, referring to the party's anti-Semitic past. Meanwhile, members of the left-wing organization Golem were prevented by the police from blocking Le Pen's participation in the rally.
In the fight against increasing anti-Semitic incidents in schools and universities, the French government announced a partnership with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). This is intended to help educators with concrete advice to "prevent and combat anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred in schools", explained the Foreign Ministry. As a first step, France is providing 600,000 euros for this purpose.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, expressed his support for a halt to Israeli bombardments in Gaza, while he was absent from the massive anti-Semitism demonstration in Paris. Conversely, Marine Le Pen, a right-wing populist, participated in the march, highlighting her contrasting stance on the issue.
Source: www.ntv.de
