The Israel-Gaza was has been spreading its far reaching consequences in Europe especially in France which is home to a sizeable Muslim and Jewish population with President Emmanuel Macron voicing forth his concerns against the escalating cases of religious disturbances as a parallel to the On-going war in the middle east . with all major political allies marching in streets to demonstrate against anti-semitism
Tensions have been mounting in France, which is home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, since the 7 October attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel and Israel’s subsequent month-long bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Nearly 1,250 antisemitic acts have been recorded since the start of the conflict – nearly three times as many as in all of 2022 – and more than 70 demonstrations against antisemitism took place around the country, including in cities such as Strasbourg, Lyon and Marseille.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, did not take part but said earlier he would be there “in my heart and in my thoughts”, adding that there could be “no tolerance for the intolerable” and France must be “united behind its values, its universalism”
More than 180,000 people across France, including 100,000 in Paris, marched peacefully 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 as well as far-right leader Marine Le Pen attended the march in the French capital amid tight security. The march was preceded by approximately 70 other rallies arranged across the country. President Emmanuel Macron, though, did not attend any of the events. He had previously expressed his support for the protest and called on citizens to rise up against “the unbearable resurgence of unbridled antisemitism.” The leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, also stayed away from the march, saying l that the march would be a meeting of “friends of unconditional support for the massacre” in Gaza. Nearly 1,250 anti-Semitic acts have been recorded in the country according to the authorities since the start of the war triggered by the Hamas massacres in Israel on 7 October and the subsequent reprisals in Gaza.
Since then, Macron has kept up a delicate balancing act seeking to reconcile France’s support for Israel and its unique relationship to Arab countries.
He also wants to avoid the importation of the conflict into France, where Europe’s largest Jewish community and millions of Muslims coexist.
He hardened his tone concerning the violence in Gaza when he told that while Israel had a right to defend itself, there was “no justification” for the bombing of civilians, saying and the deaths were causing “resentment”.
The French society has openly come to demonstrate its unified disgust against anti-semitism which has been perpetrating all across France and holds the timely marches in streets of the major cities to put an end to such primitive and barbaric tendencies amongst the civilized societies of the day.
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