On one side a Jewish presenter, on the other a parliamentarian committed to the Palestinian cause. Between the two, electricity in the air. Presenter Arthur said this Sunday in a press release to take legal action “for defamation” against LFI deputy Aymeric Caron. “We denounce hateful and obsessive rhetoric aimed at initiating an inhumanity trial against several Jewish personalities,” indicates his lawyers. They demand the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of the Paris deputy.
This follows a skirmish between the two men, through messages posted on social networks. On November 8, Aymeric Caron relayed on X (formerly Twitter) an article from Radio France Internationale (RFI) entitled “War in Gaza: 70% of victims of the conflict are children or women according to a UN report”.
In his post, he lists personalities who are, according to him, “supporters of the massacres” in Gaza committed by the Israeli army. Arthur – particularly in the fight against anti-Semitism – is mentioned there, in the same way as the president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (Crif) Yonathan Arfi or the Grand Rabbi of France Haïm Korsia.
Response from the person concerned the next day in an Instagram post accompanied by a video. It notably includes screenshots of previous X-rated posts by Aymeric Caron.
“By accusing me of supporting the massacres in Gaza, you are not only defaming me: you are targeting me. It’s become your specialty, right? », Attacks Arthur. “Find a single sentence, a single word from me that supports such remarks,” he adds, denouncing what is, according to him, a “delusional obsession (by Aymeric Caron) towards Israel for months. “Mr. Caron, your speech reeks of anti-Semitism,” he concluded.
Reaction the next day from the Paris deputy on He then lists comments that he considers anti-Palestinian made by Arthur in several media in recent weeks.
“I am now posting this question to you: for my part, I denounce without the slightest ambiguity the actions of Hamas. But are you able to say that Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister) is a war criminal who should be in prison? », Launches the parliamentarian. “Or are you only capable of calling those who denounce these major injustices anti-Semites (like all pro-Netanyahu people)? »
It is therefore on the basis of these comments that Arthur announced that he would take legal action. Questioned about this complaint, neither the Paris prosecutor's office nor Aymeric Caron's entourage have so far responded to our requests.
