French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau is initiating a process to dissolve the Urgence Palestine group for reasons of public order, he said on Wednesday.
Urgence Palestine, created in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks and Israel’s subsequent war against Hamas, has organized several anti-Israel demonstrations, some of which have been banned by the authorities because of antisemitism and calls for violence.
Retailleau, speaking on the CNews/Europe 1 channel, stressed the need to “hit the Islamists” with regard to Urgence Palestine. “Islamism is an ideology that tries to exploit a religion. There is a disfigurement of faith,” he said.
“We must not disfigure the just cause of the Palestinians,” he continued, insisting that “many of our Muslim compatriots profess a faith that is perfectly compatible with the values of the Republic.”
Urgence Palestine claims to bring together “citizens, associations, trade unions and political organizations and movements mobilized for the self-determination of the Palestinian people”, and more broadly advocates for the “struggle against colonial oppression and imperialist wars.”
It claims that it wants to put an end to the “genocide” of Gazans since the October 7 attacks and demands a boycott and sanctions against Israel, calling into question “the French government’s complicity in Israeli crimes.’’
Retailleau also announced a procedure to dissolve a far-right group called Lyon Populaire.
