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Former French Prime Minister Castigated for ‘Antisemitic’ Comments on ‘Financial Domination’ During TV Interview
Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. Photo: Screenshot
The head of the French Jewish community castigated a former prime minister on Monday for comments made during a recent television interview in which he suggested that Jewish financial clout in the United States muzzles dissenting voices in culture and the media.
Dominique de Villepin — who served as France’s prime minister from 2005-2007 and was previously both interior minister and foreign minister — expressed “insidiously antisemitic rhetoric unconsciously designating Jews as the party of international finance and puppeteers of media and artists,” Yonathan Arfi, the head of the French Jewish communal organization Crif, declared in a post on X/Twitter.
Interviewed last Thursday by broadcaster TF1 on the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, de Villepin was asked to comment on the backlash faced by actors Susan Sarandon and Melissa Barrera following their pro-Palestinian outbursts in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel, in which more than 1,200 people were murdered and over 200 kidnapped. Sarandon was booted from the United Talent Agency, which previously represented her, after claiming that American Jews fearful of rising antisemitism triggered by the conflict were “getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country,” while Barrera lost her role in the “Scream” series of movies for stating in an Instagram post that Israel was guilty of “genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
While de Villepin did not mention the word “Jew” in his answer, the thrust of his remarks chimed with long-established conspiracy theories about Jewish financial power.
“We can see in the background how heavily financial domination over the media and the worlds of art and music weigh,” de Villepin said. “They cannot say what they think because the contracts stop immediately. The financial rule that is imposed on the United States in cultural life weighs heavily. Unfortunately, we also see it in France.”
In response, Arfi charged de Villepin with trafficking in “conspiracy rhetoric,” “salon antisemitism,” and “passionate anti-Americanism.”
French politicians also condemned de Villepin. Eric Ciotti, the leader of the Les Republicains (LR) Party, remarked that the former premier’s words “remind us of dark times,” while Meyer Habib, a vocal Jewish parliamentarian, asserted that de Villepin’s “pathological hatred of Israel” had morphed into antisemitism.
In a separate interview on Monday, former French President Francois Hollande said that he had known de Villepin “for a long time” and didn’t “want to believe that he had that intention” when asked whether his comments were antisemitic. However, Hollande also warned of the need to “be careful with this idea that there would be a kind of oligarchy that would be infiltrated, structured with the Jews. Faced with this threat, this reality, of antisemitism, we must be very careful,” he told broadcaster Franceinfo.
The post Former French Prime Minister Castigated for ‘Antisemitic’ Comments on ‘Financial Domination’ During TV Interview first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.