France condemned Israel’s decision to bar the leader of the left-wing party “La France Insoumise,” Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and the chair of its parliamentary group, Mathilde Panot, from entering the country.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot described the measure as a “demagogic decision.” According to him, it comes from a government that has repeatedly violated international law and “plays into the hands” of political forces such as “La France Insoumise,” which use the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for their own purposes.
“France will continue tirelessly to work toward a two-state solution and peaceful coexistence between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,” Barrot said.
Israel cited the party’s positions
Israel’s Foreign Ministry justified the ban by citing the party’s “extreme anti-Israel stance” and “scandalous statements” by its leaders. Israel also accused Mélenchon and Panot of making “blood libels” against the country.
“Israel will respond firmly to those who seek to harm it and will not allow the entry of individuals who act against Israel and incite against its citizens,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Mélenchon’s statement late last week was also a factor in the decision. He said that if he wins France’s presidential election in April 2027, he will order French ships to escort flotillas carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israeli forces have already carried out operations against similar vessels and detained activists.
Speaking to a French radio station, Mélenchon said he had been “banned from a territory I had not wanted to visit.”
The ban followed a dispute between Paris and Tel Aviv
Israel’s decision was announced after France refused to allow Israeli settler leader Yossi Dagan to enter its territory. He is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “Likud” party and heads one of the six regional councils in the occupied West Bank.
Dagan was stopped after arriving at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport. France’s Foreign Ministry cited his active role in implementing Israel’s settlement policy as the reason, saying that the policy violates international law.
Earlier this year, France also banned Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country. Both are members of Netanyahu’s government and support accelerating settlement activity in the West Bank.