French President Emmanuel Macron attended a memorial for the victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, paying tribute to the people who have died while also criticizing the terrorist group's attacks as the "largest antisemitic massacre of our century."
The memorial was held on Wednesday to honor the 42 French citizens who died in the initial attacks, as well as three hostages who are still believed to be in the custody of Hamas and other militants in Gaza. There were also three chairs that were left intentionally empty to symbolize their absence.
The ceremony comes after newly-appointed Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne made his first trip to the Middle East, This included travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories, where he pushed for the release of the hostages.
Four other French hostages have already been released by the terrorist group as roughly 250 people in total were taken during the initial assault. During the memorial, honor guards held photographs of each victim in front of a giant screen that showed their first name in the Invalides' monumental courtyard in Paris, as per the Associated Press.
The French president said that many of the people who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023, will never turn 30 years old, adding that their voices will resonate in Hebrew and French. Macron strongly denounced barbarity which he said feeds on antisemitism and propagates it. He added that nothing can be used to justify or excuse this terrorism.
In the wake of the Hamas group's first attack on Israel, there has been a sharp rise in antisemitic acts in the French nation. Data released by the Interior Ministry as well as the Jewish Community Protection Service watchdog showed that 1,676 antisemitic acts were reported last year, compared to only 436 in 2022.
During the memorial, the Republican Guard's orchestra played "Kaddish" by French composer Maurice Ravel, which was written in 1914 based on a traditional Hebrew melody. A relative of French Israel hostage Ofer Kalderon, Yashay Dan, said that he was hoping the ceremony could resonate globally and not only in France.
Fighting Against Hatred
Macron also said that they need to fight against hatred, urging people to not give in to rampant, unbridled antisemitism. He noted that in France, a "spirit of revenge" should never be allowed to grow and that nothing should divide the people, according to The Guardian.
The president said that France would "work tirelessly" in order to respond to aspirations for peace and security in the Middle East. Macron added that in the suffering of war, all lives are equal in his country's eyes.
Several cabinet ministers and representatives of political parties attended the ceremony, which was the first to be held outside of Israel. These included members of the far-left France Unbowed (LFI).
The leader of the group, Jean-Luc Melenchon, has come under scrutiny for not labeling the Hamas group as a Terrorist organization. The militant group is proscribed as a terrorist organization by many Western governments, including the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States, said BBC.
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