Israel bars French presidential hopeful over Gaza flotilla pledge

Israel has banned French left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon from entering the country after he vowed to deploy warships to escort activist flotillas seeking to break the blockade of Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry also imposed an entry ban on Mathilde Panot, the parliamentary leader of Melenchon’s La France Insoumise (France Unbowed, LFI) party.

“Both have made statements spreading blood libels against Israel, while Jean-Luc Melenchon has also called for French naval vessels to escort illegal flotillas to Gaza,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

“The State of Israel will respond firmly to those who seek to harm it,” it added.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot blasted the move as “a demagogic decision made by a government that has repeatedly violated international law.” He argued that the ban would only help LFI to “thrive on exploiting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for political gain.”

According to recent opinion polls, Melenchon ranks second behind Marine Le Pen of the right-wing National Rally (RN) in voting intentions for the 2027 presidential election. LFI is one of the largest opposition parties in the French parliament.

A vocal critic of Israel, Melenchon has pledged to “take direct action” to support Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank if elected president.

“French naval vessels will, if necessary, escort flotillas of citizens mobilized to assert their rights,” he said on Saturday, referring to civilian boats attempting to reach Gaza. Israel has repeatedly intercepted such flotillas at sea and deported foreign activists.

Melenchon said on Thursday that he had never sought to enter Israel and reiterated his accusations of “genocide in Gaza,” as well as his opposition to Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and what he described as the gradual annexation of southern Lebanon and the Golan Heights.

The entry bans came shortly after France refused entry to Israeli settlement leader Yossi Dagan, who heads the Samaria Regional Council in the West Bank. The UN considers Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal under international law and a major obstacle to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Israel has previously barred foreign politicians, journalists and activists critical of its policies toward Palestinians. In 2019, it denied entry to US Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. In 2025, French-Palestinian European Parliament member Rima Hassan, who represents LFI, was also denied entry.

Israel has rejected accusations of genocide as a smear campaign and blamed Hamas for the devastation in Gaza, where more than 74,600 Palestinians have been killed and over 176,000 wounded since October 2023, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.