Mathilde Panot criticizes France for inaction on Israel amid Gaza conflict
Leftist lawmaker Mathilde Panot criticized the French government’s diplomatic approach, calling out the lack of coercive measures against Israel despite military operations in Lebanon and Gaza. This comes as Paris has imposed numerous sanctions on Moscow.
Speaking on France Inter’s political program, Panot highlighted the contradictions in French foreign policy regarding recent international crises. She specifically pointed out the government’s differing treatment of Russia and Israel in terms of sanctions and condemnations.
Russian sanctions versus Israeli inaction
Panot noted that France has implemented nineteen sets of restrictive measures against Russia since the start of the Ukrainian conflict. In contrast, she emphasized the complete absence of comparable sanctions against Israel, despite what she described as repeated violations of international law.
Panot referenced the ongoing colonization of occupied Palestine, military operations in southern Lebanon, and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza to illustrate what she called a “shocking double standard.”
Military escalation in the Middle East
The Palestinian territories and Lebanon have seen an unprecedented escalation of hostilities in recent months. Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have led to over 2,500 deaths and forced over a million residents into internal displacement since March.
Additionally, Israel’s ground offensive in the south of the country follows cross-border exchanges of fire with Hezbollah. The region remains tense due to joint US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran at the end of February.
Fragile ceasefire and American negotiations
Despite a ten-day ceasefire announced on April 16th, the agreements have been consistently violated by the parties involved. US President Donald Trump recently extended this suspension of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon by three weeks following high-level talks at the White House.
In Gaza, a similar arrangement supervised by the Americans theoretically remains in effect since October 10th, ending twenty-four months of conflict that claimed 72,000 lives, mostly women and children, and left 172,000 wounded.
