Mélenchon Says He Cannot Be Disappointed by Israel’s Entry Ban

The 2027 presidential candidate was appearing on a franceinfo special titled “Nos services publics” when the Israeli announcement reached the studio. “Since I asked for nothing, I cannot be disappointed,” he said. “I am being barred from entering a territory I did not ask to enter.”

He added: “I regret that the Israeli government is pursuing me in this way.” He also referred to Israel’s ambassador in Paris, who, he said, would “rather anyone be elected than me.” “Fair enough, to each his own tastes,” Mélenchon said.

Ban Announced on Thursday

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Foreign Minister and Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar had barred Mélenchon, the leader of La France Insoumise, and Mathilde Panot, who chairs the party’s group in the National Assembly, from entering the country.

The ministry cited what it called the party’s “virulent anti-Israel positions” and “outrageous statements” by its senior members. It accused both of having “leveled blood libels against Israel” and pointed to Mélenchon’s pledge that French ships could escort flotillas to Gaza.

Clash Report earlier reported the ministry’s decision, which at the time had drawn no public response. The statement did not say that either politician had planned a trip.

Panot and Campaign Posts

Panot issued her own reply on X. “Banned from entering Israel, like Jean-Luc Mélenchon. I’m still looking for the bad news,” she wrote, adding a message to the Israeli authorities: “Free Palestine!”

Mélenchon also posted on X. “Israel is banning me from entering its territory? I did not ask to enter,” he wrote. If his camp came to power, he said, it would “say what we have to say,” including denouncing what he called “the genocide in Gaza, the colonization of the West Bank and the gradual annexation of southern Lebanon and the Golan Heights.” Israel rejects the genocide accusation.

On franceinfo, he ruled out any “normalization” with the Israeli government if he won the May election. “We will say what we have to say, and we will say it frankly,” he said.

Context of the Decision

The Israeli measure came a day after France refused entry to Yossi Dagan, a settler leader from the northern West Bank, over what Paris called his “active role in implementing the settlement policy in the West Bank.” Israel called that refusal “unacceptable.”

He repeated the genocide and annexation charges last Saturday at a rally in Le Bourget, near Paris, where he presented LFI’s 2027 program. That program called for sanctions on Israel’s government and a suspension of the EU association agreement with Israel.

He had pledged that French ships would, if necessary, escort civilian flotillas if he won the presidency. The ministry called those sailings “illegal flotillas.”