French MEP Knocks Down Israeli Flag at October 7 Memorial Exhibition
A French far-left MEP knocked over the Israeli flag at a European Parliament exhibition honoring victims of the October 7 attacks, on the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre that killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.
Rima Hassan, a member of the France Unbowed party, toppled the Israeli flag on Monday evening at an exhibition dedicated to the attack's victims. Photos circulating on social media show both the Israeli and EU flags lying on the floor. Hassan has admitted to removing the Israeli flag but denies intentionally knocking over the EU flag, with her office claiming neither flag was stepped on or damaged.
"We cannot have attempts to intimidate rather than to debate" — European Parliament President Roberta Metsola
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola addressed the chamber Tuesday, saying she was taking the incident "extremely seriously" and that appropriate measures were being taken. "We cannot have actions that could make people fearful of speaking. We cannot have damage to property. And we cannot have attempts to intimidate rather than to debate," Metsola said.
The backlash was immediate and widespread. Centre-right MEP François-Xavier Bellamy called the act "a form of complicity with those who want to reintroduce antisemitic hatred" in Europe. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar called the scenes "shameful, outrageous, but sadly not surprising."
Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka went further, saying he could not understand how someone who aims to represent the public could be "so violent and disrespectful of the death of thousands of people." He said French citizens were growing tired of Hassan's behavior and her attempts to bring the Israeli conflict into French domestic politics.
Hassan framed her actions as a protest against the exhibition's Israeli state backing and claimed speakers at the event denied Palestinian statehood. She is currently awaiting trial over separate allegations that she promoted terrorism in a social media post referencing a perpetrator of a 1970s attack in Israel.
Wednesday marked three years since the Hamas-led attack. Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed over 70,000 Palestinians, according to the UN.
