President Emmanuel Macron vowed on Wednesday that France will “never forget” the victims of the October 7 massacre and kidnapping by Hamas-led terrorists in Israel.
EN DIRECT | Cérémonie d'hommage aux victimes françaises des attaques terroristes du 7 octobre en Israël. https://t.co/MI9LaKIDyJ
— Élysée (@Elysee) February 7, 2024
Macron made the pledge at a ceremony commemorating the French citizens who were murdered during the invasion of Israel and the subsequent torture and slaughter of more than 1,200 people that day, along with the abduction of 253 others.
Of those, Israel managed to secure the release of 110 captives. On Tuesday, the Jerusalem government confirmed that 31 of the hostages who remain in Gaza captivity are no longer living; intelligence personnel are evaluating information that another 20 hostages may also be dead.
Representatives of the Embassy of Israel in Paris also attended the ceremony.
“This was the biggest antisemitic massacre of the century,” Macron said at the ceremony. “The indescribable emerged from the depths of history. We weep in the face of barbarism.”
??? BOULEVERSANT
Le Kaddish* de Maurice Ravel résonne dans toute la France depuis cette cour des Invalides pendant cet hommage National de la France à nos compatriotes victimes des attaques terroristes du 7 Octobre en Israël. ??
*Prière des morts dans la tradition Juive pour… pic.twitter.com/cvvPNvmepR— E. David Benaym (@benaym) February 7, 2024
A musical rendition of the Kaddish (Jewish prayer for the departed) composed by Maurice Ravel was played during the national tribute as well, with photos of each of the victims held by French National Guard personnel.
Speaking to participants who included the families of the victims, including those of three French citizens still being held hostage in Gaza, Macron said “Their empty chairs are here.
“The French nation will never forget the victims of the seventh of October,” he pledged. “Sixty-eight million French people mourn the Hamas attack … Whoever kills through hatred will always find love opposing them.”
