PARIS(Correspondent) -France’s political parties are divided over the upcoming march against anti-semitism in Paris. Despite a recent surge in anti-Semitic incidents in the country, a call for a weekend march in Paris against anti-semitism has sparked bitter squabbling between political parties. While the speakers of the country’s two houses of parliament have called for the march, the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party has decided to boycott it. The participation of the far-right National Rally (RN) is also creating controversy. The march is scheduled to take place on Sunday in Paris.
The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party has announced that it will boycott the “great civic march” called by the speakers of the country’s two houses of parliament for the French capital on Sunday. The participation of the far-right National Rally (RN) in the march has created a headache for the left and centre-left, who argue that the renamed National Front (FN) founded by convicted Holocaust denier Jean-Marie Le Pen has no place in such a gathering. Communist leader Fabien Roussel has also refused to march alongside Marine Le Pen’s RN, accusing it of being descended from people who were “repeatedly condemned for anti-Semitic remarks” and who “collaborated” with Nazi Germany. The two speakers of the French legislature, Yael Braun-Pivet of the National Assembly and Gerard Larcher of the Senate, announced a “general mobilisation” late Tuesday against the upsurge in anti-Semitic acts in France. Despite the controversy, far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she would not be deterred from taking part.
Tensions have been rising in Paris, home to large Jewish and Muslim communities, following the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on October 7, which has been followed by a month of Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Since the attack, France has recorded more than a thousand anti-Semitic acts. On October 31, buildings in the city and its suburbs were daubed with dozens of Stars of David, which for some brought back horrific memories of the Nazi occupation of Paris during World War II and deportation of Jews to death camps. The graffiti was condemned across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Borne has described these acts as “despicable” and said they would not go unpunished. The Paris public prosecutor has said it is necessary to investigate “the anti-Semitic nature of the perpetrators’ intentions, particularly in view of the geopolitical context and its repercussions in France.
