The French Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated on Tuesday that he had not had confirmation of the arrival in Paris this week of the far-right Israeli Minister, Bezalel Smotrich. “At this stage, I have no confirmation of his coming to France,” declared Jean-Noël Barrot, during a joint interview with the France 24 channel and RFI radio.
Bezalel Smotrich, the Minister of Finance, is invited to participate on Wednesday in Paris in the “Israel forever” gala, an event in support of Israel organized by several far-right personalities.
The gala, for which French associations, unions and left-wing parties have unsuccessfully demanded the cancellation, will be held on the eve of the France-Israel football match. This meeting is considered “high risk” by the French authorities after the violence which occurred last Thursday in Amsterdam on the sidelines of a match involving the Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv.