A year after the Hamas attacks in Israel, “ time of mourning » in the Jewish religion, a moving ceremony bringing together some 4,000 people, paid tribute to the victims, Monday evening, October 7, at the Dôme de Paris, Porte de Versailles. Many political figures responded to the invitation of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF). The evening interspersed political speeches, speeches by personalities (Sophia Aram, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Arthur), readings by artists (Sandrine Kiberlain, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Yvan Attal, Stéphane Freiss, Joann Sfar) with testimonies from survivors or relatives victims, dance, music and songs taken up in chorus by the room. The faces of the 48 Franco-Israeli victims appeared on stage, on panels carried by as many extras, forming a poignant picture.
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France, marked by the resurgence of anti-Semitic acts over the past year, will continue “to combat anti-Semitism by all means”promised the Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, accompanied in particular by the Ministers of Justice, Didier Migaud, and of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau. “We won’t let anything go”he added.
While two Franco-Israeli hostages are still being held in Gaza, Michel Barnier wanted to remind us that “France never abandons its children”. “You can count on the President of the Republic, on the Prime Minister (…), on all members of the government, to protect our compatriots of the Jewish faith”he insisted, triggering boos from part of the public at the mention of the head of state.
Emmanuel Macron’s remarks, broadcast on Saturday on France Inter, in which he calls for an end to arms deliveries to Israel, have caused consternation and incomprehension among part of the Jewish community in France. “The minimum, a few days before this sad anniversary, would have been to respect the Jews and the hostages, confides Delphine, who came to attend the ceremony. This is either flippancy or cynicism on his part. »
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” Anger “
On stage, Michel Barnier wanted to reassure his audience, repeating that “Israel’s security is not and will never be negotiable.” And the former Minister of Foreign Affairs (2004-2005) added that the Hebrew State “is today in a situation of self-defense”. “Weapons!” »we demanded in the room, in response to the head of government. Who received a standing ovation from the audience.
On the applause meter, if the former President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy or the former Prime Ministers Manuel Valls and Gabriel Attal, as well as the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, all seated in the front row, were acclaimed, the deputy for Corrèze François Hollande, elected in June as part of the New Popular Front, alongside La France insoumise (LFI), was widely hissed. The movement of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who worked to relativize the role of Hamas in the massacres of October 7, “sees resistance fighters where universal conscience recognizes terrorists, castigated Yonathan Arfi, the president of CRIF. That LFI still finds allies within the Republican left is an outrage, a betrayal.”
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