They will come, despite the controversies.
On Sunday, the coordinator of La France insoumise (LFI), Manuel Bompard, confirmed the presence of his troops on Wednesday during the national tribute to the 42 French victims of the terrorist attack of October 7.
“
It is in no way our intention to participate in any controversy by participating in this tribute (...) It seems to me that when we pay homage to the dead, the controversy can pass and be put to the side”,
a- he assured again this Monday, at the microphone of Sud Radio.
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Five families of victims, however, sent a letter to Emmanuel Macron, asking that the presence of the Mélenchonist movement be
“banned”
at the ceremony, due to the controversial positions of some of its elected officials.
Two days before the tribute to the Invalides, Manuel Bompard wanted to clarify his opposition to Hamas, which the Insoumis have always refused to describe as terrorist.
“
I said very clearly that neither the methods of action, nor the ideology of Hamas, nor its political project were mine, and that I was fighting them
,” he continued, before qualifying the October 7
“pogrom”
attacks .
Despite letters from families, the head of state did not return to the invitation extended to the rebels.
“The President of the Republic decided to invite us
,” recalled Manuel Bompard.
“From that moment, and because I think it is important to be present to pay tribute to all the families of the victims (...) you will understand that, if I tell you that I don’t go to this tribute, you will blame me too.”
At the end of January
,
the boss of the LFI deputies, Mathilde Panot, had also requested that a tribute be paid to
“all the French victims of this war in the Middle East”
, including the Franco-Palestinians killed in Gaza by the Israeli army.