1 of 6 | French President Emmanuel Macron (far L) heads a ceremony in tribute to the French victims of the Hamas’ Oct 7th attack in southern Israel at the Invalides in Paris on Wednesday, four months to the day after armed gunmen from Gaza executed 1,200 people and kidnapped 253 hostages. Republican guards held the portrait-pictures of the 42 French victims of the massacre. Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo
French President Emmanuel Macron presided over a ceremonial tribute Wednesday to honor the memories of the French victims of the Oct.7. Hamas attack on Israel.
The outdoor ceremony was held on the grounds of the Invalides memorial building in Paris and was attended by the families of French victims of the Hamas attack. Empty chairs represented each of those killed or still missing. Advertisement
Macron called the attack the “biggest anti-Semitic massacre of our century” and “barbarism … fed by anti-Semitism,” French news outlets reported.
Hamas attackers killed 42 French civilians and kidnapped several more, three of whom remain missing and whom French officials believe are hostages in Gaza.
The victims were memorialized in photographs displayed during the ceremony, an X video shows. Many of the family members were flown to the ceremony at the government’s expense.
Macron said France will continue to fight to liberate its three citizens believed to still be held captive by Hamas and never will submit to “rampant and uninhibited anti-Semitism,” French news sources reported.
French news also reported anti-Semitic acts in France were four times greater in 2023 than a year prior. Advertisement
The memorial ceremony was held exactly four months following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
Israel’s embassy in France sent several representatives to attend the memorial.
