The French have decided to put up a ban on all pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the country. Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior in France, has ordered foreign nationals that do not follow and obey this new rule deported. All of this is a cause of many European governments’ fear of a rise in antisemitism, or hostility towards Jews, because of the recent Israel-Hamas war.
Despite this, thousands of pro-Palestinians protested in Paris on Thursday today. German police have also broken up another movement in support of Hamas in Berlin. France’s population of Jews, 500,000, are outnumbered nearly ten to one by the Muslims currently residing in the country. Many antisemitic acts, mainly graffiti, have grown in Europe. This graffiti consists of swastikas, “death to jews”, and many others showing hatred towards the Jewish community.
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has made it clear that their people will show “zero tolerance” towards these antisemitic acts. Germany has also described a pro-Palestinian group known as Samidoun handing out candy in Berlin after the Hamas attack on Israel. Many want Jewish schools and other Jewish buildings protected by police.
France is aware of their losses in this war from the murders and kidnappings of French citizens living in Israel. The French Assembly President herself received death threats from pro-Palestinians. Most political parties in France have condemned the war, but the left-wing Socialist and Communist parties have a more equal view of it.
