Thunderbolt in the hemicycle. On the occasion, Tuesday August 2, of the last questions to the government before the summer break, almost all the deputies of the Nupes left the session, turning their backs on the Minister of Justice in full speech. Without naming them, Eric Dupond-Moretti had just accused the La France Insoumise deputies of anti-Semitism. What happened ? What does the Keeper of the Seals rely on?
Act 1: the question of deputy LR Meyer Habib
It all starts with a question from Les Républicains deputy Meyer Habib on the legal consequences of the attack on rue des Rosiers, which killed six people in a historic Jewish district of Paris in 1982. In his speech, the elected Declare that “the new anti-Semitism is still present in France, especially on the left of this hemicycle with the Islamo-leftists”. Meyer Habib goes on to call“filthy” a motion for a resolution carried by around forty deputies from the left. The text, signed at the end of July, condemns the “institutionalized apartheid regime” by Israel against the Palestinians. This proposal uses the term“apartheid”historically associated with the regime in place in South Africa until 1991, to describe the policy pursued by the State of Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Act 2: the answer and the accusations of the Keeper of the Seals
In response to the LR deputy, Eric Dupond-Moretti provides details on the current legal case, before sending a “little word on the far left” : “Corbyn, apartheid, the words you chose to comment on the speech of the President of the Republic, these words stick to your skin”. The mention of Jeremy Corbyn alludes to an old controversy: the support of theformer leader of the British left, often criticized for his complacent comments on anti-Semitism, at two LFI candidates during the legislative campaign in Paris.
Eric Dupond-Moretti also uses the term “apartheid”, previously criticized by Meyer Habib. The communist deputy at the initiative of this proposal, Jean-Paul Lecoq, had however denied any anti-Semitism on this point, referring to a vocabulary used by several NGOs. The sentence of the Minister of Justice finally echoes a tweet by Mathilde Panot, president of the LFI group in the National Assembly, published on the day of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Vel d’Hiv roundup.
80 years ago, the collaborationists of the Vichy regime organized the roundup of #Vel d’Hiv
Do not forget these crimes, today more than ever, with a President of the Republic who honors Pétain and 89 RN deputies!— Mathilde Panot (@MathildePanot) July 16, 2022
By qualifying Emmanuel Macron as president “which honors Pétain”MP LFI was referring to remarks made by the President of the Republic in 2018. On this occasion, Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the Marshal for his role during the First World War, while affirming that he had “leads to dire choices” during WWII.
Act 3: the left-wing deputies leave the hemicycle
Barely the name of Jeremy Corbyn pronounced, the deputies of the Nupes begin to recover. Between whistles and applause, the elected officials leave the hemicycle one by one. At the end of the speech of the Keeper of the Seals, their benches are almost empty. After a few minutes, the deputies gradually return to their seats. Back, Boris Vallaud, the leader of the socialist group, judged “unwelcome” this exit from a minister and recalled the support of his party in the fight against anti-Semitism. Thanking the Member for his “clarification”Elisabeth Borne said: “I don’t think anyone in my government has questioned the position of the socialist group, the communist group or the Europe Ecologie-Les Verts group on these subjects.” Outcry on the side of LFI, which the Prime Minister took care to exclude from her statement.
Act 4: chain reactions on the left
“Extreme Gravity”, “unacceptable”, “unworthy”… The remarks made by the members of the government triggered the anger of the deputies of the Nupes in the hours that followed. On Twitter, Adrien Quatennens is one of the many LFI elected officials to have reacted. The Member for the North goes so far as to use the term “junk” to qualify this sitting in the National Assembly.
filth. @E_DupondM and @Elisabeth_Borne instrumentalize a resolution of the communist group to treat the rebellious deputies as anti-Semites. Anti-Semitism is a poison, a crime. Trivializing it or confusing it with criticism of government policy is extremely serious.
— Adrien Quatennens (@AQuatennens) August 2, 2022
At the microphone of France Inter, Wednesday August 3, the ecologist deputy Sandrine Rousseau calls “the majority to take up common sense, take up the meaning of the Republic because a border was crossed yesterday”.
.@SandRousseau : “We are witnessing a trivialization of the National Rally, of its history and of its hatred and discrimination. I call on the majority to return to common sense.” #le69Inter pic.twitter.com/rPvQYTmYan
– France Inter (@franceinter) August 3, 2022
Questioned at the end of the session of questions to the government, Olivier Faure recalled that playing with anti-Semitism is “a crime”. For the First Secretary of the Socialist Party, “What is frightening with this new government is this constant desire to demonize the far right in order to demonize the left”.