Israeli athletes will receive 24-hour protection during the Paris Olympics, France’s interior minister said on Sunday, after a lawmaker said Israel’s delegation was not welcome and called for protests against their participation.
The Games begin Friday amid pronounced security concerns at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Israel’s war against Hamas that has devastated Gaza has become a lightning rod among France’s left, with some critics accusing pro-Palestinian members of antisemitism.
French interior minister Gérald Darmanin said in a TV interview Sunday that Israeli athletes would be protected around the clock during the Games, 52 years after the Munich Olympics massacre in which 11 Israelis were killed by Palestinian militants.
Foreign minister Stephane Sejourne told a meeting of European Union counterparts in Brussels on Monday: “I want to say that on behalf of France, to the Israeli delegation, we welcome you to France for these Olympic Games.”
He said he would emphasise that point in an imminent phone call with his Israeli counterpart, and also “tell him that we are ensuring the security of the Israeli delegation.”
At a pro-Gaza rally Saturday, far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party lawmaker Thomas Portes was filmed saying Israel’s Olympic athletes were not welcome in France, and that there should be protests against their taking part in the Games.
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