the challenge of building true national unity

The President of the Republic chairs on Wednesday, at Les Invalides, a ceremony paying tribute to the 42 French victims of Hamas, on October 7 in Israel.

Before paying tribute to the victims on Wednesday, February 7, to the disabled, four months after the Hamas attack, the executive of course needed to take the exact measure of the horror of the massacres. He also had to take into account the situation of the hostages as a priority. Four French hostages have been released, three others are still presumed detained, without it being known whether they are dead or alive.

But this essential tribute is truly welcome. This is in fact the largest number of French civilian victims in an attack committed abroad. However, national emotion was undoubtedly not up to this tragedy. If 42 French people had been murdered in London, Rome or Berlin, we can imagine that the whole country would have been traumatized. This was not the case after October 7. Hence the challenge facing Emmanuel Macron: trying to build today a true national unity around the name and face of each of these victims.

A complex unit

French Jews have sometimes had the feeling of being forgotten in recent years by the rest of the national community during the anti-Semitic assassinations which have stained our country with blood. They often felt a little alone when they took to the streets. Fortunately, there was the saving burst of last November 12, the great march against the resurgence of anti-Semitic acts which brought together more than 100,000 people.

But by refusing to join or simply come and greet the procession, Emmanuel Macron has reactivated this unease. Moreover, always cautious, the Élysée saw fit to let it be known on Monday that another “memorial moment” will be organized later, in tribute to the French victims of the Israeli bombings on Gaza, victims of whom we do not know the number.

The presence of the Insoumis is debated

Families of victims expressed indignation to Emmanuel Macron about the presence of the Insoumis at Les Invalides. They accuse them of stirring up “Judeophobia”notably by refusing to qualify Hamas “terrorist organization”. All parliamentary groups are invited to this “republican ceremony” replied the Élysée.

The Insoumis will therefore be present, as will the deputies of the National Rally. Last November, Jean-Luc Mélenchon nevertheless took the presence of Marine Le Pen at the back of the procession as an excuse to prohibit his troops from marching against anti-Semitism.