On Thursday October 12, the Head of State will receive all the leaders of political parties to take stock of the situation in the Middle East, before a televised address at 8 p.m. The president wants to try to calm the climate of public debate.
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To discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, Emmanuel Macron receives party leaders at the Élysée on Thursday October 12 before addressing the French on television at 8 p.m., with several objectives.
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The Head of State first wants to demonstrate the country’s solidarity with Israel, victim of the deadliest terrorist attack in its history, and with a population traumatized by the massacres committed by the Islamist terrorists of Hamas. And then, the president will try to show the face of a united country, particularly around the fate of our eleven compatriots murdered by Hamas and the eighteen other French nationals who disappeared and, for some, probably kidnapped. Emmanuel Macron also wants to try to calm the climate of public debate to avoid the importation into France of tensions born from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which will be much more difficult.
National unity seems impossible
Since Saturday, the Insoumis have been going it alone, including on the left. They were slow to condemn the attacks by Hamas, a movement they refuse to describe as “terrorist”. And they denounce “the alignment of France with the United States and the far-right government of Benyamin Netanyahu” and demand the immediate opening of peace negotiations with Hamas terrorists who advocate the destruction of the State of Israel. What the executive fears is that this speech fuels the feeling of “double standards” within a segment of the population as the Israeli army continues to bomb the Gaza Strip and cause civilian casualties. The government also fears that the Jews of France will once again find themselves targeted. The Ministry of the Interior has noted several dozen anti-Semitic incidents resulting in numerous arrests.
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The Jewish community is increasingly courted by Marine Le Pen. This is the other consequence of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s attitude. L’Insoumis contributes to further trivializing the far-right party which no longer hesitates to portray itself as the defender of the Jewish community of France. Monday evening, the Insoumis were absent, but elected National Rally officials, without Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella, joined the solidarity rally initiated by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France. The president of Crif assures that he is not fooled by this attempt at recovery and he refutes any dialogue with the RN. But this simple presence, without notable incident, is a tour de force, for a party with such a long history of anti-Semitism.