France has announced a suspension of all evacuations for Gazans fleeing the conflict-ridden territory, following widespread outrage over an alleged antisemitic social media post by a Palestinian student.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot affirmed on France Info radio that the woman “must leave the country” and “has no place” in France.
“No evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn the necessary conclusions from this investigation,” Barrot stated in the interview. He also pledged an inquiry into how the Palestinian woman obtained a student visa.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau similarly expressed his strong disapproval of the incident, declaring, “Hamas propagandists have no place in our country.”
The student, now expelled from Sciences Po Lille and whose identity has not been disclosed by the French government, is accused of sharing a post featuring an image of Adolf Hitler that advocated for the killing of Jews.
According to a screenshot shared online, the caption accompanying the Hitler image, translated by Grok from Arabic to English, read: “Kill the Jews everywhere. I don’t want a Jewish lineage on this earth. You must kill them before they kill you.”
Sciences Po Lille stated on X that its administration became aware of the student’s posts after a report from Radio Monte-Carlo (RMC). The institution condemned the posts, asserting that their content directly contradicted the values upheld by Sciences Po Lille, adding that the school rejects antisemitism, discrimination, and incitement to hatred.
The French Minister of Higher Education stated, “France has no obligation to host international students who glorify terrorism, crimes against humanity, or antisemitism.” The minister added, “Whether they come from Gaza or elsewhere, international students who express or relay such views have no place in our country, nor on our soil.”
The minister also vowed that the French government would “do everything necessary to ensure that the case of the Palestinian student admitted to Sciences Po Lille, who shared extremely serious comments on social media, is handled with the utmost firmness.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently faced criticism from the U.S. and Israel for his plan to recognize a Palestinian state, has not yet commented on the student matter.
Under Macron’s proposal, Paris intends to recognize a Palestinian state in September. The country seemingly prepared the ground for this earlier this week by co-chairing a conference with Saudi Arabia. During the event, several nations endorsed the “New York Declaration,” which calls for Hamas to disarm and transfer control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority. The declaration also demands Israel withdraw its forces from the Strip.
The U.S. opposed the conference prior to its commencement, with State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce labeling it “unproductive and ill-timed.” She further dismissed it as a “publicity stunt that comes in the middle of delicate diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.”
“As Secretary Rubio has made clear, this effort is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th and a reward for terrorism. It keeps hostages trapped in tunnels,” Bruce asserted. “The United States will not participate in this insult but will continue to lead real-world efforts to end the fighting and deliver a permanent peace. Our focus remains on serious diplomacy: not stage-managed conferences designed to manufacture the appearance of relevance.”
Israel also voiced its objection to the conference.
“Israel has already agreed many times to a ceasefire. No token recognition and no UN resolution will change the basic fact that there are those in the world who fight terrorists and extremist forces and then there are those who turn a blind eye to them or resort to appeasement,” Danon said in a statement.