PARIS, 11 August — The French government criticized Israel for having arbitrarily arrested five French citizens who earlier this week participated in a peace march against Israeli incursions into Palestine. A government spokesman said that France had been assured by Israel that the five persons would “soon be deported” back to France.
It was apparently the first time since the arrival in power of a new French government last May that France chose to scold Israel — going so far as to lecture Israel on the right to free speech, indeed tell Israeli authorities that “we hope that such incidents do not happen again”. This took place following several weeks of implementation of a new policy that has seen France significantly step up its criticism of Palestine for attacks by its bombers on Israeli targets, while at the same time substantially lessen its criticism of Israeli armed attacks on Palestinian targets, and formally offering Israel its sympathy following every recent attack by bombers on its citizens.
According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero, queried at yesterday’s Quai d’Orsay press briefing as to the incident which had until now been kept under wraps, “We have been informed of the arrest and detention by Israeli authorities of five French nationals who had gone to Israel to take part in a peaceful demonstration. Our consular representatives were immediately mobilized to offer them assistance under provisions of the Vienna Convention.”
Valero also noted that the Israeli authorities, “have informed us that they foresee their return to France soon.” France, in turn, he noted, “recalled our attachment to freedom of expression and informed (Israel) of our expectation that such incidents do not happen again.”
As part of its decision to revamp its Middle East policy to not appear as being excessively pro-Palestinian — this in turn to give greater credibility to France’s proposal that an international peace conference on the Middle East be held on French soil — France has in recent weeks undertaken a number of symbolic measures to signal to Israel its decision to take a friendlier approach to the long-lasting conflict. Over the years France, notably under the presidency of Socialist President Francois Mitterrand, had exhibited an evident preference for Palestine and its historic leader Yasser Arafat.
Now, with France’s indication that it wants to play a stepped-up role in resolution of the conflict, the word has been put out by the Quai d’Orsay that French representatives should henceforth make every effort to show greater comprehension for Israel’s point of view in the conflict.
The new policy has even seen French authorities meet openly with representatives of major Jewish organizations, something that had never been done under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. The most recent meeting took place Wednesday at the Quai d’Orsay between the newly-appointed French Minister for European Affairs Noelle Lenoir and Serge Cwajgenbaum, the secretary general of the European Jewish Congress.
Reporting on the meeting later in the day, Quai d’Orsay spokesman Bernard Valero noted that the “long talk” that Lenoir had with Cwajgenbaum, had taken place “in a very friendly atmosphere,” and that among the subjects evoked were “anti-Semitic acts in Europe and in the world, the dialogue of cultures, and the conflict in the Middle East.”
During the talk,” noted Valero, Lenoir recalled the “measures of extreme firmness” that French authorities had decided to take with regard to anti-Semitic acts on French soil, and that the measures included not only “prevention” but also “repression,” with France promising to make use not only of its police but also its judicial authorities to “fight against every manifestation or act of violence having an anti-Semitic or xenophobic character.”
Lenoir also promised Cwajgenbaum that France was “now determined to fight without respite on its soil against all foreign activity contrary to the principles of the (French) Republic,” an evident reference to the existence in France of numerous extremist Islamic networks with close ties to Al-Qaeda, that have in the past been accused of being actively involved in terrorist actions both in France and abroad.
