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Thomas Portes had said at a rally in support of Palestinians that “the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris” read more
 "Outrage after French MP says Israelis 'not welcome'")
French politician for La France Insoumise (LFI) Thomas Portes poses during a photo session. AFP
A French hard-left Minister of Parliament (MP) sparked a political row by saying Israeli athletes were not welcome at the Paris Olympics, which begin July 26, because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. One senior minister, in response, said it had “hints of anti-Semitism”.
France Unbowed (LFI) lawmaker Thomas Portes was “putting a target on the backs of Israeli athletes”, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told broadcaster France 2, echoing criticisms made by a major Jewish group on Sunday (July 21).
Yonathan Arfi, head of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, said Israeli athletes were “already the most in danger at the Olympic Games”, referencing to the 11 “murdered by Palestinian terrorists” in 1972 at the Munich Games.
In a post on X, Arfi branded Portes’s comments “irresponsible” and accused him of “legitimising Hamas”, the Palestinian militant group whose October 7 attacks on Israel sparked the Gaza war.
Portes had said at a rally in support of Palestinians that “the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris. Israeli sportspeople are not welcome at the Paris Olympic Games” and called for “mobilisation” around the event.
He later told the Parisien newspaper that “France’s diplomats should pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban the Israeli flag and anthem, as is the case for Russia”.
“It’s time to end the double standard,” Portes added.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, only few individual athletes will be allowed to compete in Paris and not under their country’s colours. Additionally, they have been allowed only after a clear vetting process by the IOC to ensure they have not expressed support for the war.
Gaza war divides left
Opposition to Israel’s campaign in Gaza was a centrepiece of LFI’s campaign ahead of European elections last month.
The territory’s Hamas-run health ministry said Sunday that almost 39,000 people had been killed in the fighting, most of them women and children.
Perceived ambiguity in LFI’s response to the October massacre broke apart an alliance of left-wing parties, which grudgingly reformed for this month’s parliamentary polls but has since struggled to find common ground despite coming first.
Beyond Darmanin and the Jewish group, Portes also came under attack from nominal parliamentary allies in the Socialist party and conservatives.
“Of course Israeli athletes are welcome, like all sportspeople from all over the world. Not for who they are but for what they do,” Socialist MP Jerome Guedj posted.
Some LFI lawmakers came out in support of Portes.
“The Israeli flag, stained with the blood of Gaza’s innocents, should not fly in Paris this summer,” MP Aymeric Caron wrote.
Israel’s football team is set to play its first Olympic match against Mali in Paris’ Parc des Prince stadium on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s office said Sunday that he would attend Friday’s boat parade on the river Seine and a commemoration for the Israelis killed in Munich in 1972.
(with inputs from AFP)
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