It is a very high tension match between France and Israel which will take place on Thursday evening. After last Friday’s attacks in Amsterdam against Israeli supporters, Bruno Retailleau ensures that he is taking the necessary security measures for this match to take place. And security should be at the maximum level, because Emmanuel Macron will be present in the stands of the Stade de France. However, the Israeli authorities have called on their nationals not to go there.
Guest of the Great Europe 1-CNews interview, Benjamin Haddad, Minister Delegate for Europe, wishes to reassure. “Israeli footballers and supporters are welcome in Paris, as were Israeli athletes in the Olympic Games. Political forces are asking us for a boycott. This is not an acceptable practice. Sport must be a moment of friendship between peoples”, he says at the microphone of Sonia Mabrouk.
Against anti-Semitism, “an absolutely firm hand is needed”
“I am pleased once again that we did not give in to intimidation. We did not give in to blackmail” to relocate this match, he adds. As a reminder, clashes broke out during the night from Thursday to Friday last in Amsterdam following a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, with Israel denouncing “appalling” violence against its supporters and sending planes to assist them.
The fear that a similar incident will take place in France this week is therefore very present. “This hatred of Israel is used as fuel to attack Jews. And on this, political leaders have a responsibility, since we see those, like France Insoumise, who have used the Palestinian question as electoral fuel, with consequences sometimes in violence. For a long time, we did not denounce enough, we did not fight enough. So today, we need an absolutely firm hand, we must not let anything pass,” concludes the minister. To guarantee the safety of Israeli footballers and supporters on Thursday, around 4,000 police and gendarmes will be mobilized.
Belgium
