Protests erupted in Paris on Wednesday against a gala organized by French far-right figures in support of Israel. The event, intended to raise funds for the Israeli military, had included Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich among its invited guests, though he didn’t end up attending.
The demonstrations came on the eve of a high-stakes soccer match at France’s national stadium against the Israeli national team, overshadowed by tensions around Israel’s wars against the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups. Authorities in Paris announced that more than 4,000 police officers and 1,600 stadium staff would be deployed for the game.
Smotrich, a vocal advocate of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, had been expected to attend Wednesday’s gala, dubbed “Israel is Forever,” which was planned by an association of the same name. The group’s stated goal is to “mobilize French-speaking Zionist forces.”
After days of growing criticism of the event, Smotrich’s office confirmed Wednesday that the minister would not travel to Paris to participate.
But the invitation to Smotrich drew sharp criticism from local associations, unions and left-wing political parties, prompting two protests in the French capital. The minister, a hardline leader, has been promoting far-reaching settlement plans in the West Bank and drew international condemnation this week by saying he hopes the election of Donald Trump in the US would clear the way for Israeli annexation of the West Bank — a step that would likely extinguish Palestinian statehood dreams.
The French Foreign Ministry called Smotrich’s remarks “contrary to international law” and counterproductive to efforts to reduce regional tensions.
Critics also pointed at Nili Kupfer-Naouri, president of the “Israel is Forever” association, who sparked outrage in 2023, after the Israel-Hamas war started, when she tweeted that “no civilian in Gaza was innocent.” Gazan civilians have been found to be holding hostages abducted from Israel in their homes.
On Wednesday night, several hundred protesters marched through central Paris, denouncing the event as a “gala of hatred and shame.”
“Imagine if an association were hosting a gala for Hezbollah or Hamas — there’s no way the police would allow that,” said Melkir Saib, a 30-year-old protester. “The situation is just unfair.” (The EU designates Hamas and the military wing of Hezbollah as terrorist entities.)
French authorities defended the event, with Paris police chief Laurent Nunez stating that the gala posed “no major threat to public order.”
The protests came days after tensions flared in Paris — a massive “Free Palestine” banner was displayed during a Paris Saint-Germain Champions League match against Atletico Madrid last week — and after riots and violence targeting Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam.
French authorities stepped up security ahead of the Israel-France Nations League soccer match in Paris on Thursday, hoping to avoid a repeat of the violent clashes in Amsterdam.
“It’s an exceptional measure, three to four times greater than what we usually mobilize,” Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told RTL radio on Wednesday.
In a rare move, police will also be deployed inside the stadium. Civilian staff are normally assigned to those roles.
Passions over Israel’s war with Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza run high in France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities. Reports of antisemitic acts increased by an “unprecedented” 284 percent in 2023, France’s Human Rights Commission said in June, while anti-Muslim acts rose around a third.
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