A French left-wing legislator faced backlash after declaring that the Israeli Olympic delegation was unwelcome in Paris.
Thomas Portes, a member of La France Insoumise (France Unbowed, or LFI), made the controversial remarks during a protest in Paris on Saturday.
"No, the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris. Israeli athletes are not welcome in the Paris Olympic Games," Portes said.
The following day, he told the daily Le Parisien: "French diplomacy must put pressure on the International Olympic Committee so that the Israeli flag and anthem are not admitted in the Olympic Games, just as was done for Russia. We must put an end to this double standard."
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told broadcaster France 2 on Sunday that he proposed to President Emmanuel Macron that Israeli delegations should be protected 24/7 by French police during the games.
Darmanin said Portes "put a target on the back of the Israeli athletes."
The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, said on X that he is calling for "a dissolution process against LFI."
Muriel Ouaknine-Melki, president of the European Jewish Organization, told broadcaster CNews that they would file a complaint against Portes for incitement to hate.
Left-wing lawmakers expressed support for Portes on X.
"A genocide is still ongoing in Gaza. Nearly 40,000 people are dead. Rare individuals who denounce and call for sanctions are targeted by the far-right. Support for Thomas Portes," lawmaker Aurelien Le Coq said.
Lawmaker Jerome Legavre described the reaction against Portes as "intolerable."
Another lawmaker, Manuel Bompard, stated that there is "nothing anti-Semitic in asking that, due to violations of international law, Israeli athletes compete in the Olympic Games under a neutral banner, as is the case for Russian athletes."
LFI members have been openly supporting Gaza and the Palestinian cause since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East.
Since Tel Aviv launched its military campaign on Oct. 7, nearly 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 89,700 others are injured, according to Gaza’s local health authorities.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operations in the southern city of Rafah.
