Israel Bars Two French Left-Wing Leaders, and Paris Condemns the Move

Israel has barred Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing France Unbowed party, and Mathilde Panot, the party's parliamentary group chair, from entering the country. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemned the decision as a "demagogic decision," according to Al Jazeera.

Israel said the two were barred because of the "extreme anti-Israel stance" of their party and "outrageous statements" by its leaders. Israel also accused Mélenchon and Panot of making "blood libel" statements against Israel. France Unbowed, known in French as La France Insoumise, is a party on the political left.

Mélenchon has said that if he wins the French presidential election in April 2027, he would order French ships to escort flotillas, or groups of boats, carrying aid to Gaza. The ban on him and Panot comes against the background of that stated plan, though Israel's stated reasons refer to the party and its leaders' statements.

France has used the same tool. After Israeli settler leader Yossi Dagan landed at Charles de Gaulle International Airport, France barred him from entering the country. Dagan is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and heads one of six Israeli regional councils in the occupied West Bank. France's Foreign Ministry said he was barred because of his active role in implementing Israel's settlement policy.

Earlier in 2026, France had also banned two Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, from entering France.