Mass pro-Palestinian demonstrations were held in Paris and around France on June 14, called for by five major national union confederations — from the radical Solidaires to the far less combative French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT). This followed a week of impressive solidarity actions following the abduction and imprisonment of participants in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
The Freedom Flotilla Twelve included European MP Rima Hassan, from the radical left formation La France Insoumise (France in Revolt). Hassan and 11 other participants were aboard the Madleen when they were kidnapped by Israeli soldiers in the middle of the night, in international waters. She along with other participants were imprisoned in Israel.
When another solidarity flotilla was attacked by Israel 15 years ago, the Zionist state preferred to execute in cold blood several unarmed participants. This time, participants found themselves in prison cells.
Hassan’s captors tried to pressure her to sign a document recognising that she had entered Israel illegally.
“I’ll smash your head against the wall if you don’t sign this. We’ll deal with this in our way,” she was told.
She refused, along with most of her comrades.
When she wrote “Free Palestine” on her cell wall, she was shackled hand and foot and put in solitary confinement, where she began a hunger strike.
Israeli authorities abandoned the idea of putting her in front of an Israeli court and placed her on a flight home. During the journey, far-right Israeli passengers threatened her
When it was not known whether Hassan and the other kidnapped activists were safe, large demonstrations were held across the country on Monday June 9. These were the biggest simultaneous demonstrations organised for several decades. For the next five days, thousands gathered in Paris and other towns each evening to protest. In central Paris some demonstrators erected tents and camped out.
Finally, at the June 13 rally in Paris, we welcomed Hassan home.
Hassan told the crowd that “the next boat is ready to sail”.
FI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon declared the flotilla “[a] success that did more in a few days than the governments of the world have done” for Gaza. In the same week, dockers in Marseille refused to handle spare parts for the Israeli massacre machine.
President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister François Bayrou had no objection, it seemed, to elected French representatives being snatched in international waters.
Macron pleaded that the flotilla crew be allowed home, without a word of protest against Israel’s actions. Bayrou claimed that Hassan and the others were just involved in a “publicity stunt”.
At the time of writing, Israel has not yet freed three of the kidnapped crew, including radical journalist Yanis Mhamdi.
The French government is unconcerned, too busy applauding Israel’s bombing of Iran.
Faced with the mass support for Palestine, Macron again denounced the famine imposed on Gaza, and declared France’s “determination” to recognise a Palestinian state — but not just yet, and not without conditions. Macron wants a Palestinian bantustan with a flag, but no army, and a government chosen by Western imperialism in consultation with the genocide team in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, Macron’s support for the genocide continued even as he denounced it. His government approved an Israeli presence at a major arms fair held outside Paris on June 15, with nine Israeli companies vying to sell their arms “tested in combat” on the people of Gaza.
The mass media has tried to play down the Freedom Flotilla story, and told lies about it. Hassan’s release from illegal detention by a French ally did not even make the main national evening news. The 24-hour news channels had the Israeli ambassador, Israeli army spokesperson and their buddies chatting about the Freedom Flotilla, calling it a “pleasure cruise”. They haven’t invited Hassan on to their shows.
Despite a strong tradition of mass demonstrations in France, pro-Palestine rallies have been smaller this year than across the channel in Britain, so last week's mobilisations were a much-needed boost. Having a large-ish political formation 100% committed to stopping Israel’s genocide — the FI has 71 MPs and 9 MEPs — is tremendously useful.
This movement around the flotilla has reinforced the position of the FI as the centre of gravity of radical politics in France. The other forces within the fragile electoral alliance — which won the left the largest grouping in parliament after last year’s elections — have reacted diversely.
The Socialist Party's Olivier Faure denounced the illegal boarding of the Madleen. Leaders of the Communist Party and the Greens made similar declarations. But much of the left — along with Macron — has been more interested in attacking the FI.
When Hassan declared that Palestinian resistance is legitimate, two ministers asked if her French nationality could be withdrawn.
This week, at the Socialist Party’s (SP) biennial conference, MP Jérôme Guedj called Mélenchon an “antisemitic bastard” to applause in the hall. The SP leadership has so far refused to dissociate themselves from these insults.
Widespread sectarianism has stopped most of the radical and revolutionary left from defending the FI against the smear campaign rolled out in recent months, identical to the one against Jeremy Corbyn in Britain a few years back.
Every left activist should oppose it.
Rallies are planned against the arms fair in Le Bourget where Israel will be an honoured guest. This needs to be the beginning of a deepening of the movement.
Israel must fall.
[John Mullen is a revolutionary in the Paris region and a supporter of the France Insoumise. This article is based on an earlier piece posted on his blog, Random Bolshevik.]