Eleven party leaders gathered for more than two hours at the Élysée Palace. Macron's opponents and allies held a closed-door exchange on the situation in the Middle East, where at least 12 French nationals have died and 17 are missing since the Hamas attack on Israel on Saturday. The President of the Republic said that four children were among those whose whereabouts are unknown, according to participants in the meeting. The head of state will address the country in a solemn televised address at 20 p.m.
A first special Air France flight to repatriate from Israel the most "vulnerable" French people is due to fly from Tel Aviv for an arrival at 20:35 in Paris, where they will be welcomed by Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. According to French diplomacy, several other "special flights" are planned for Friday and Saturday.
Unanimity on hostages
The leaders of the eleven parties represented in parliament all expressed, despite sometimes different terms, their condemnation of the Hamas attack. "I trust naturally (...) to the French authorities to do everything possible to ensure that, in general, all hostages are released," and particularly the French, declared the president of the Republicans Éric Ciotti on his way out. "I am convinced that France will do everything possible to free the French hostages and others," said the leader of the ecologists Marine Tondelier, in a rare spirit of national unity.
Beyond that, the oppositions have expressed their nuances to the head of state. The coordinator of La France Insoumise Manuel Bompard said he was "disgusted" by the "petty political battles" while his radical left movement is accused on all sides, including by its allies, of not clearly describing Hamas as a "terrorist" organization. He arrived and left alone without the other NUPES leaders, unlike the previous meeting with the President of the Republic at the end of August.
LFI has "an isolated position", stressed the president of the Radical Party Laurent Hénart, noting more generally the "climate of listening and respect" that prevailed. Olivier Faure, on the other hand, appeared with Marine Tondelier. The boss of the socialists insisted on the "singular voice" that France should carry to "continue to promote" a "word of peace", to "prevent the emotion from turning into a generalized bloodbath". Support for Israel cannot be "unconditional" but limited by "international law," he said, lamenting that Paris is too "aligned."
On the far right, National Rally leader Jordan Bardella protested against the "red carpet" rolled out "in Qatar," which he said was "financial support for Hamas." Éric Ciotti said he was "disappointed by the maintenance" of development aid to the Palestinians, which the right had called for to be suspended.
Fostering "Unity of the Nation"
According to his entourage, Emmanuel Macron wanted by this meeting, welcomed by opponents, to promote "the unity of the Nation" at a time when the executive takes seriously the risk of tensions in France. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced Thursday that he had recorded "more than a hundred anti-Semitic acts" since Saturday targeting Europe's largest Jewish community, with some 500,000 people.
Its office reported 41 arrests, while Pharos, the platform for reporting online hate, received more than 2,000 reports. The minister, however, assured that "for the intelligence services, there is no sign in the neighborhoods, in the street" of importing the conflict into France.
France strongly condemned the "terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas" and affirmed its "full support" for Israel, as well as its "attachment" to its "right to defend itself." On Wednesday, government spokesman Olivier Véran also called for "avoiding the escalation situation" and "protecting civilians". France wants "a political resolution of the conflict" for "the search for a lasting peace", he said.