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‘My Role Is to Preserve Unity’: Macron Defends Absence From Paris March Against Antisemitism
French President Emmanuel Macron is seen at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Photo: Reuters/Martial Trezzini
French President Emmanuel Macron has justified his absence from last Sunday’s march against antisemitism in Paris, saying that his role was not to attend protests, but “to work for the release of our hostages, and to continue to preserve the unity of our country during this period.”
Speaking to the news outlet Le Figaro during an official visit to Switzerland, Macron emphasized that his opposition to antisemitism was never in doubt, and that he would have been ready to clarify any “ambiguities.” He continued: “But there were none, I was always implacable.”
The French leader had faced criticism for not attending the march, with Eric Ciotti, who heads the Les Republicains (LR) Party, calling on him to “clarify the reasons” for his absence. Several speakers at the march, among them a descendant of Alfred Dreyfus — the French Jewish army captain falsely convicted on espionage charges at an infamous 1894 trial that unleashed a wave of antisemitic violence across France — expressed disappointment at Macron’s absence. Nearly 200,000 people attended the march in Paris, with more than 20,000 gathering as well in provincial cities.
However, Macron has been anxious to avoid being pulled into day-to-day political disputes, arguing that a head of state should stand above the fray. Some analysts also suggested that Macron wanted to avoid marching in the same demonstration as Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen, the leaders of the far right Rassemblement National (RN — “National Rally”), who joined the march despite appeals from the Jewish community to stay away.
Macron also addressed the ongoing war in Gaza, triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in Israel which resulted in the murder of more than 1,200 people and the seizure of over 200 as hostages.
France’s stance was to support “Israel’s right to live in peace in the region” along with the “legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people” towards the goal of a “two-state solution,” he said.
Referring to the fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas terrorists in Gaza, Macron added that he “condemned in the strongest terms all the bombing of civilians, in particular civilian infrastructure, which must be protected under international humanitarian law.”
Macron asserted that his role as president is “to work for the release of our hostages, and to continue to preserve the unity of our country during this period,” stressing that “protecting French people of Jewish faith [does not mean] pillorying French people of Muslim faith.” Six French citizens are understood to be in Hamas captivity.
More than 1,500 antisemitic incidents have been reported in France since the Oct. 7 atrocities.
The post ‘My Role Is to Preserve Unity’: Macron Defends Absence From Paris March Against Antisemitism 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.