French March Against Antisemitism Draws More Than 180,000 People Across Country

Posted by Reinaldo Massengill on Saturday, August 17, 2024

More than 180,000 people across France, including approximately 105,000 in Paris, took part in a civic march against antisemitism on Sunday, according to figures released by the interior ministry and police prefecture.

Major political figures such as former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, as well as prime minister Elisabeth Borne and culture minister Rima Abdul Malak attended the march. President Emmanuel Macron wasn’t there, but he penned an open letter published in French newspaper Le Parisien over the weekend to denounce the “unbearable resurgence of unbridled antisemitism.”

The event, organized by National Assembly speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet and senate speaker Gérard Larcher, comes amid an explosion of antisemitic acts in France. Nearly 1,250 antisemitic acts have been recorded in France since Israel was attacked by the terrorist group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 civilians and taking over 240 hostages, according to France 24. In the wake of the attack, the Israeli army began bombing the Gaza Strip to eradicate Hamas, which rules over Gaza and is still holding hostages. However, the march in France was peaceful, with attendees waving French flags, urging national unity and celebrating republican values.

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The march also gathered several figures from the film and TV world, including Cannes Film Festival president Iris Knobloch, producer/TV host Arthur Essebag and MK2 co-CEO Nathanael Karmitz, as well as talent such as Melanie Thierry, Elsa Zylberstein, Natalie Portman (who contacted the organizers ahead of the event to let them know that she’d take part) and Sandrine Kiberlain. Producer Melita Toscan du Plantier and directors Eli Chouraqui and Daniele Thompson were also in attendance.

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In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, other French entertainment industry players including Justine Triet, Juliette Binoche, Alice Diop and Adele Exarchopoulos have signed open letters and petitions demanding “an immediate and unconditional ceasefire” after “decades of occupation” by Israel and calling the terror attack by Hamas a “war crime.”

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