Explosive divisions over the Gaza war are the rally cry for the left in France as voters head for polls in the European election on Sunday.
France Unbowed (LFI), led by firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, is the only political party to give the highest importance to the Gaza war.
His party currently polls fourth at around 8 per cent of the vote, far behind the far-right National Rally at more than 30 per cent, followed by centrist President Emmanuel Macron's list at 15 per cent and the socialist group at 14 per cent.
The horrors of the war in Gaza have swayed Nadia, a French professional with Lebanese roots in her 30s who lives in Paris, to vote LFI for the first time.
“There's a need to give a hierarchy to what's most important to me,” she said, asking for her name to be changed out of fear of retribution from her employer.
The urge to promote politicians ready to heighten pressure on Israel in Brussels trumps her distaste for LFI's past support for Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and his allies, including Russia and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
On Friday, just two days before the election, LFI's most vocally pro-Palestine politician, 32-year lawyer Rima Hassan, called on “bringing the Palestinian cause into the European Parliament”.
“On June 9, be on the right side of history,” wrote Ms Hassan on X to her 184,000 followers, alongside pictures of famous writers stating their support for her party. They included 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Annie Ernaux.
Yet it remains unclear how much popularity LFI will gain from its pro-Palestine stance, which critics describe as an opportunistic attempt at attracting Muslim votes.
Some analysts have said it's a risky bet because French people's main concerns lie in the economy, not foreign affairs.
Others, such as Bertrand Badie, a leading French political scientist, say that incidents such as a flagging waving protest that got a deputy thrown out of the National Assembly are the result of the government's unwillingness to engage on the Israel-Palestine conflict and its hostility to pro-Palestinian voices.
“It's not because a topic is not high in the polls that it's not present in society,” Mr Badie told The National. “It's really hard to know from polls what really interests people or not.”
“LFI cannot be defined by its position on Gaza. It's more a positioning that signals its differences with other political parties,” he said.
'Giving voice to the oppressed'
LFI rejects accusations of opportunism and says it has a moral obligation to raise awareness about what it describes as an ongoing genocide in Gaza – which Israel denies.
Ms Hassan, who was born a Palestinian refugee in Syria, has said it's important for her “to bring humanity to those reduced to subjects without a voice”.
She has been the target of criticism from the centre, the right and the far-right, who have accused her anti-Semitism and of supporting Hamas. Her supporters say such attacks are racist.
The Gaza war triggered a rise in anti-Semitic attacks in France, causing fear among the Jewish community which is still affected by deadly incidents such as the 2012 killing of three Jewish schoolchildren in Toulouse and the 2015 supermarket siege.
At the last European election in 2019, Nadia voted for the Greens and says that many of her peers who used to vote for Mr Macron's allies will vote for LFI on Sunday.
She wants a review of the EU-Israel association agreement put forward by Spain and Ireland in February to have more support in the European parliament.
“LFI can do things at European level, like putting an end to the association agreement with Israel,” she said.
She also recognises such feelings are mostly restricted to young people and those with family ties in the Middle East and North Africa.
“It's basically young people, especially those who are politicised, and Arabs,” Nadia told The National.
In a signal of how important the Israel-Palestine conflict has become in France, Mr Macron devoted close to a third of his half-hour live TV interview on Thursday night after announcing that he would deliver Mirage 2000 jets to Ukraine.
He has come under fire for refusing to follow the lead of Ireland, Spain and Norway in recognising a Palestinian state, despite one of his closest advisers on the Middle East, former defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, publicly backing such a move last week.
France supports the recognition of Palestinian statehood, said Mr Macron, but now is not the time. Pressed by his interviewers, he said that reasons included the fact that “the situation is not stable on the ground”.
Also, recognition “won't have any pressure effect [on Israel], the Palestinian Authority must undergo reforms”, said Mr Macron.
He also asked: “What Palestine are we talking about? A Palestine where you still have Hamas tunnels?”
Mr Macron criticised what he described as the prevalence of anti-Semitism in pro-Palestine protests in French universities, in a reference to an incident in March in which a Jewish student was barred from entering a conference on Palestine at the prestigious Sciences Po university.
The President also argued that France played an important role in diplomatic discussions on the future of Gaza.
“I'm the only western leader to have twice received the six ministers of the Arab contact group who are working on the day after” in Gaza, he said, in reference to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
The specs
Engine: 3.6 V6
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Power: 295bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: Dh155,000
On sale: now
RESULT
Chelsea 2
Willian 13'
Ross Barkley 64'
Liverpool 0
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Manchester City 4
Otamendi (52) Sterling (59) Stones (67) Brahim Diaz (81)
Real Madrid 1
Oscar (90)
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Young girls thinking of big ideas'
Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.
“Most of us have this dream of opening a business,” said Afra, referring to her peers are “young girls thinking of big ideas.”
In the three-week class, pupils are challenged to come up with a business and develop an operational and marketing plan to support their idea. But, the learning goes far beyond sales and branding, said teacher Sonia Elhaj.
“It’s not only about starting up a business, it’s all the meta skills that goes with it -- building self confidence, communication,” said Ms Elhaj. “It’s a way to coach them and to harness ideas and to allow them to be creative. They are really hungry to do this and be heard. They are so happy to be actually doing something, to be engaged in creating something new, not only sitting and listening and getting new information and new knowledge. Now they are applying that knowledge.”
Afra’s team decided to focus their business idea on a restaurant modelled after the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each level would have a different international cuisine and all the meat would be halal. The pupils thought of this after discussing a common problem they face when travelling abroad.
“Sometimes we find the struggle of finding halal food, so we just eat fish and cheese, so it’s hard for us to spend 20 days with fish and cheese,” said Afra. “So we made this tower so every person who comes – from Africa, from America – they will find the right food to eat.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Her most famous song
Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?
Would I ever find you again
You, the heaven of my love, my yearning and madness;
You, the kiss to my soul, my cheer and
sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
This world is volume and you're the notion,
This world is night and you're the lifetime,
This world is eyes and you're the vision,
This world is sky and you're the moon time,
Have mercy on the heart that belongs to you.
Lyrics: Al Hadi Adam; Composer: Mohammed Abdel Wahab
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
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