A rally in Paris on 16 May to protest the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip two days earlier. Similar solidarity actions have been held around France. Sadak Souici Le Pictorium

Israel’s massacre of dozens of Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip last Monday is sharpening the divide between the French public and the country’s staunchly pro-Israel leaders.

Even before the latest massacre, one of France’s international giants, film director Jean-Luc Godard, had joined dozens of cultural figures saying they would refuse to take part in French government “cultural” activities designed to promote Israel.

Since Monday, people have demonstrated in solidarity with Palestinians all over the country, including thousands in the streets of Paris.

En ce moment, au Trocadéro à Paris, près de 3000 manifestant·e·s sont rassemblé·e·s en solidarité avec le peuple palestinien.#Palestinr #Gaza #GreatReturnMarch pic.twitter.com/ftai4Hkev1 — BDS France (@Campagnebds) May 16, 2018

The CGT, a major labor federation, condemned Israel for committing a “crime against humanity,” and urged its members to intensify their solidarity with Palestinians.

Another federation, L’Union syndicale Solidaires, reiterated its support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement as did the left-wing anti-capitalist organization NPA.

In an online poll run by Le Journal du Dimanche this week, 66 percent of the 33,500 people who took part agreed that France should recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv.

That position was backed in parliament by La France Insoumise, the left-wing party of former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon who has supported sanctions on Israel.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Eric Coquerel, a lawmaker for the party, said Israel had been allowed to violate international law with impunity for far too long.

"Il faut rappeler l'ambassadeur de France en Israël !" -

Ma question au Gouvernement sur le massacre de manifestants palestiniens à #Gaza. pic.twitter.com/USpRWupqma — Eric Coquerel (@ericcoquerel) May 16, 2018

Emmanuel Macron doit rappeler notre ambassadeur en Israël et convoquer l'ambassadeur d'Israël en France pour lui demander des comptes. Ce massacre nécessite une réponse diplomatique française claire #QDactu #DirectAN #Gaza — Adrien Quatennens (@AQuatennens) May 16, 2018

“Why has France not already withdrawn its ambassador from Israel?” Coquerel asked Prime Minister Édouard Philippe.

Mélenchon also urged the government to summon the Israeli ambassador, as Belgium, Ireland and Luxembourg have done to protest Israel’s actions.

La France doit condamner les massacres à #Gaza. L'ambassadeur d'Israël à Paris doit être convoqué à l'Élysée pour s'expliquer. La paix agonise sous les coups de #Netanyahou. — Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) May 14, 2018

France has refused to take any such steps, but the government is clearly feeling pressure to go beyond the typical bland statements of “concern” and calls for “restraint” that have characterized responses from the European Union and its members since Israel began its weekly massacres of protesters in Gaza on 30 March.

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday finally “condemned the violence of the Israeli armed forces against the demonstrations,” according to his office.

These rhetorical shifts are, however, unlikely to assuage outrage that France is still refusing to take any action to hold Israel accountable.

Macron notably failed even to endorse the calls from other EU states for an investigation into the slaughter in Gaza.

“Tell the truth”

In light of France’s position, many people on social media shared a 2014 article by Dominique de Villepin, a center-right former prime minister and foreign minister who gained international stature when he led France’s opposition to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

Cet article de Villepin en 2014 reste d’une brûlante actualité : “Ayons le courage de dire une première vérité: il n'y a pas en droit international de droit à la sécurité qui implique en retour un droit à l'occupation et encore moins un droit au massacre.” https://t.co/PtmMO41KCb — Karim Emile Bitar (@karimbitar) May 16, 2018

Dominique de Villepin : «Lever la voix face au massacre perpétré à Gaza» https://t.co/vm4lygQUAG via @FigaroVox — Najoua Boufaden (@NajouaBoufaden) May 18, 2018

He had criticized France’s weak response to Israel’s invasion of Gaza that year.

Writing in Le Figaro, de Villepin stated that it was France’s duty to “raise its voice against the massacre perpetrated in Gaza.”

He condemned France’s mere calls for “restraint” while “children are being killed” as well as one-sided support for Israel.

“Let’s have the courage to tell the truth: there is nothing in international law or in the right to security that implies a right to military occupation, even less a right to carry out massacres,” de Villepin stated.

With bluntness rare for a mainstream French politician, de Villepin said that Israel’s sole reliance on military brutality and its utter disregard for the rights and interests of Palestinians “condemns Israel, bit by bit, to becoming a segregationist, militarist and authoritarian state.”

“This is the spiral of apartheid South Africa before Frederik de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, made up of violent repression, iniquity and humiliating bantustans,” de Villepin added. “It is the spiral of French Algeria.”

This time around, most of the French center right has remained silent, but Israel has predictably found support from the far right.

Morts à Gaza: Israël a "défendu sa frontière", selon Aliot (FN)https://t.co/qeUCpJ5WR6 — France-Soir (@france_soir) May 15, 2018

Louis Aliot, a member of parliament from the historically anti-Semitic Front National, and the partner of its leader Marine le Pen, declared that in committing the massacre in Gaza, “the Israelis were defending their border.”

France-Israel season

Despite the growing outrage, France is pressing ahead with the Saison France-Israël – or France-Israel Season – a propaganda campaign backed by both governments to whitewash Israel on the 70th anniversary of the start of the Nakba – the ongoing expulsion and exclusion of the Palestinian people from their homeland in order to establish a discriminatory and apartheid “Jewish state.”

On Wednesday, two days after Gaza’s bloodiest day in years, France’s ambassador in Tel Aviv insisted that the France-Israel Season would be launched in two weeks as planned:

Amb. @HeleneLeGal recording a special interview in Channel 9, Israeli TV channel in Russian, with anchor @ddoubov. Topics: #Jerusalem, #Gaza, bilateral relations 🇫🇷🇮🇱 and the French-Israeli season that will be launched in 2 weeks. Full interview this Friday 8PM. pic.twitter.com/NtVFy3EM0X — La France en Israël (@ambfranceisrael) May 16, 2018

Left-wing lawmakers are amplifying calls for the cancellation of the festival.

More good news! Nearly 80 actors, directors, artists in France stand in solidarity with Palestinians, refuse to appear in Israeli gov-backed "France-Israel Season" series of events and urge others "not to participate in any form whatsoever." [in French] https://t.co/1sXQmTOt9W — PACBI (@PACBI) May 9, 2018

Earlier this month, 80 French artists, including Jean-Luc Godard, published an open letter explaining why they would refuse to take part in the France-Israel Season.

The artists say that “under the cover of promoting dialogue and exchange,” the France-Israel Season is “really a means put in place by the Israeli government to burnish the image of the state of Israel that is being tarnished each day by its ever harsher policies towards the Palestinians.”

Solidarity across France

At the Cannes Film Festival this week, attendees observed a minute of silence at the Palestine pavilion in solidarity with victims of the Israeli massacre.

Au festival de #Cannes hier, moment de recueillement pour les 60 Palestinien-nes assassinés par Israël à #Gaza. #Cannes2018 pic.twitter.com/0x2zmdtn1c — AgenceMediaPalestine (@AgenceMediaPal) May 15, 2018

Those in attendance included Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, actor Benicio del Toro and several other film festival jury members.

French-Lebanese actor Manal Issa made headlines around the world by holding up a sign on the Cannes red carpet stating “Stop the attack on Gaza.”

"Stop the attack on Gaza" https://t.co/XuN10VkRzC — Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) May 16, 2018

Meanwhile, activists held rallies in solidarity with Palestinians in towns all over France:

Avec une délégation @LesJeunesG au rassemblement de solidarité avec le peuple palestinien. La France ne peut se contenter de la timidité diplomatique et de condamnations convenues. Nommer le crime, ses auteurs et ses complices, c’est la condition de notre propre dignité. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/shmcAehERh — Benjamin LUCAS (@benlucas80) May 16, 2018

Plusieurs centaines. De personnes réunies sur le Vieux-Port de Marseille pour dénoncer le massacre perpétré par l'armée israélienne. #Gaza #GazaMassacre pic.twitter.com/zXxx6pgycW — CallGate (@CallGate74) May 15, 2018

#NANCY. Plus d'une centaine de manifestants mobilisés pour dénoncer la politique israélienne dans la bande de Gaza pic.twitter.com/ytKnMMulgT — France Bleu Sud Lorraine (@bleusudlorraine) May 16, 2018

Rassemblement ce jeudi soir à Creil en solidarité avec #Gaza https://t.co/PMNikokLbp pic.twitter.com/qmNPZT2oe3 — PCF Oise (@pcfoise60) May 17, 2018

Une cinquantaine de personnes rassemblées en soutien au peuple palestinien a #perigueux après notamment les nombreux morts à #Gaza #Palestine #Israel pic.twitter.com/E4AwlxlUas — France Bleu Périgord (@Bleu_Perigord) May 16, 2018

Un "camp" de #Gaza éphémère et symbolique place de la cathédrale à #Rouen en soutien aux #Palestiniens pour les 70 ans de la #Nakba70 https://t.co/qhyHgbE4Q1 pic.twitter.com/rPH9I0ntIt — France Bleu Normandie (Seine-Maritime, Eure) (@fbleuhnormandie) May 16, 2018

Une centaine de personnes rassemblées place de la cathédrale à #Rouen en soutien aux palestiniens de #Gaza à l'appel de l'association France Palestine Solidarité. pic.twitter.com/uFq4F8SiVU — France Bleu Normandie (Seine-Maritime, Eure) (@fbleuhnormandie) May 15, 2018

Plus que jamais, Rennes est solidaire avec la Palestine ! ✊ pic.twitter.com/rrPJBhpCMC — Jeunes Communistes35 (@MJCF35) May 15, 2018