The debates in the National Assembly, Wednesday October 30, took a particularly tense turn during a session addressing the question of the ban on the activities of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees from Palestine) in Israel. Remarks exchanged quickly ignited the hemicycle, pitting LFI deputy Thomas Portes against Philippe Lottiaux, elected from the National Rally (RN).
While La France insoumise (LFI) MP Nathalie Oziol expressed her views on the situation of UNRWA humanitarian workers, harsh comments came from the RN side. “They are hand in hand with Hamas” and “They are terrorists” were notably launched by RN deputies, including Julien Odoul and Laurent Jacobelli. Philippe Lottiaux also accused LFI of supporting “terrorist friends”. Trying to defend international law, Nathalie Oziol deplored these interruptions, before recalling the invitation made by her colleague Thomas Portes to a delegation from the Palestinian NGO network to attend the debates at the Assembly.
It was at that moment that Thomas Portes made several virulent remarks against Philippe Lottiaux, openly threatening him: “Shut your mouth, you! We'll take care of you. » He would have added “Go ahead, get out!” » and “We're going to explain ourselves outside, you'll see. We're going to go outside. » These words only increased the tension in the hemicycle, while other deputies tried to intervene to calm things down.
The altercation, which was widely relayed on social networks and by the media, sparked calls for sanctions from the National Rally, which plans to seize the office of the National Assembly.
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