80 years ago, “
Jews from all walks of life came together to awaken a glimmer of hope
,” Emmanuel Macron greeted Monday, receiving the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (Crif) at the Élysée, on the occasion of the anniversary of the body which took its roots in the Resistance.
A reception filled with “
mixed feelings
”, acknowledged the Head of State, recalling the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, “
the largest anti-Semitic massacre of our century
”, and their consequences.
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Faced with “
this new wave
” of anti-Semitism, which “
raises doubt, sometimes discouragement among so many of our compatriots, as if it should never end
”, Emmanuel Macron insisted: “
This fight is just and we will lead it
” .
“
Every time the slightest trace of anti-Semitism reappears, we will be intractable as we have always been
,” he promised.
“Republican order” at Sciences Po
“
The question that many ask, and I hear it: will they be able to be French and Jewish, believers or not, be called Sarah or Ilan, be active in a student association, display a mezuzah without being referred to an identity, summoned to explain yourself or even to step aside or run away?
Will they be able to study in places of education that have sometimes become places of anti-Semitic impulses and imprecations?
Will they be able to live in a country of memory and hope where the memory of the Shoah is carried and transmitted?
Will they be able to live as equals and brothers?
», listed the President of the Republic.
Emmanuel Macron notably mentioned the “
recent events
” at Sciences Po, where a member of the Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) denounced anti-Semitic remarks against her last week, while she was prevented from attending. enter an amphitheater occupied by pro-Palestine activists.
“
Investigations have been opened
” and “
the government will ensure that republican order is respected
,” assured the head of state.
In his introductory speech, the president of Crif, Yonathan Arfi, reiterated his request for a parliamentary commission of inquiry into anti-Semitism in higher education.
Distance from the Netanyahu government
Emmanuel Macron estimated that anti-Semitism in France had “
a long history
”, “
from Drumont to Maurras, from Faurisson to Dieudonné
”.
In his eyes, “
radical Islamism
” would be only the last of the “
masks of hatred
” behind which it thrives.
“
There is only one way to combat anti-Semitism: it is universalism, it is the bloc that the Republic forms
,” he said.
The Head of State also returned to the situation in the Middle East, believing that France's role was to "
condemn terrorism as we have done with the greatest clarity
" while calling "
in the same movement to protect civilians today under the bombs in Gaza, and to chart a path for peace that recognizes the humanity in the faces of others
.”
While Yonathan Arfi considered that Israel was pursuing “
a just cause
”, while pointing out “
the distress of all civilian populations
”, Emmanuel Macron marked his distance from the government of Benyamin Netanyahu.
“
Defending and loving Israel, wanting its security, does not mean subscribing to all the choices of a democratic government of the moment
,” he declared.
And the president called for “
building a political solution without which there will never be peace and security for Israel
”.