France has suspended all evacuations of Gazans fleeing the conflict amid growing outrage over a Palestinian student allegedly sharing antisemitic content on social media.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told France Info radio that the woman “must leave the country” and has “no place” in France.
“No evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn the necessary conclusions from this investigation,” Barrot said, adding that there will be a probe into how the Palestinian woman obtained a student visa.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau also voiced his condemnation on X, stating, “Hamas propagandists have no place in our country.”
The expelled Sciences Po Lille student, whose identity has not been disclosed by authorities, is accused of sharing a post featuring an image of Adolf Hitler alongside a caption calling for the killing of Jews.
A screenshot shared by the Jerusalem Post shows the caption — translated from Arabic to English by Grok — reading: “Kill the Jews everywhere. I don’t want a Jewish lineage on this earth. You must kill them before they kill you.”
In response, Sciences Po Lille said in a thread on X that it became aware of the post after a report by Radio Monte-Carlo (RMC). The institution strongly condemned the content, calling it “directly opposed to the values upheld by Sciences Po Lille.” The school emphasized its rejection of antisemitism, discrimination, and incitement to hatred.
French Minister of Higher Education Philippe Baptiste wrote, “France has no obligation to host international students who glorify terrorism, crimes against humanity, or antisemitism. Whether they come from Gaza or elsewhere, international students who express or relay such views have no place in our country, nor on our soil.”
Baptiste further promised that the government will “do everything necessary to ensure that the case of the Palestinian student admitted to Sciences Po Lille, who shared extremely serious comments on social media, is handled with the utmost firmness.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently faced criticism from the U.S. and Israel for his plan to recognize a Palestinian state, has not yet commented on this specific incident.
Macron’s plan involves recognizing the Palestinian state at the upcoming UN General Assembly in September. Earlier this week, France co-chaired a United Nations conference with Saudi Arabia, where several countries signed the “New York Declaration.” This declaration calls for Hamas to disarm and transfer control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, while demanding Israeli forces evacuate the Strip.
The U.S. opposed the conference, with State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce labeling it “unproductive and ill-timed,” dismissing it as a “publicity stunt” amid delicate diplomatic efforts.
“As Secretary Rubio has made clear, this effort is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th and a reward for terrorism. It keeps hostages trapped in tunnels,” Bruce said. “The United States will not participate in this insult but will continue to lead real-world efforts to end the fighting and deliver a permanent peace. Our focus remains on serious diplomacy: not stage-managed conferences designed to manufacture the appearance of relevance.”
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon also criticized the conference, stating, “Israel has already agreed many times to a ceasefire. No token recognition and no UN resolution will change the basic fact that there are those in the world who fight terrorists and extremist forces and then there are those who turn a blind eye to them or resort to appeasement.”
