President Macron commemorates French victims of Oct. 7 attack in Israel

By Nur Asena Erturk

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday commemorated the 42 French victims of the Palestinian group Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7.

Macron addressed the families of the victims as well as political figures, including some ministers and former ministers, who were gathered in historic Invalides Square in Paris.

"68 million people are grieving," the president said, describing the attack as "the biggest antisemitic massacre of our century."

He noted that three French nationals are still hostages of Hamas, stressing that "all lives matter."

"France will remain unified in those moments of suffering for Israelis and Palestinians, to work to answer everyone's aspirations to peace and security in the Middle East," the president said, adding that “nothing can excuse or justify terrorism."

At the beginning of the ceremony, some groups protested the arrival of lawmakers of the left-wing La France Insoumise party at Invalides Square.

LFI members were criticized for failing to label Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The latest conflict in the Middle East began four months ago when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood – a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 27,585 Palestinians and injuring 66,978 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.