- Title: FRANCE-ISRAEL/BEACH “Tel Aviv on Seine" celebration sparks controversy in Paris
- Date: 12th August 2015
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (AUGUST 11, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BANKS OF RIVER SEINE WITH BEACH PACKED WITH PEOPLE PARIS BEACH POSTER POLITICAL CO-ORDINATOR OF FRANCE'S PARTI DE GAUCHE (LEFT PARTY), AND ELECTED OFFICIAL FROM THE PARIS REGION, ERIC COQUEREL, APPROACHING ON BANK OF SEINE (SOUNDBITE) (French) POLITICAL CO-ORDINATOR OF FRANCE'S PARTI DE GAUCHE (LEFT PARTY), AND ELECTED OFFICIAL FROM THE PARIS REGION, ERIC COQUEREL, SAYING: "We can't celebrate a way of life, joie de vivre on the beaches just a few days after a baby was burned, a year after Gaza. For a large number of our fellow citizens and for public opinion it's incomprehensible. We have to send messages, including to the Israelis, including to those Israelis who are fighting against the government of (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, saying that when that situation exists in a country we can't pretend all of a sudden that for a day that all exists in a bubble and that we're going to celebrate with DJs, mojitos and gastronomy." BANKS OF RIVER SEINE NEXT TO PARIS BEACH, PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (French) SECOND YEAR POLITICS STUDENT, MARIE VILLIERS, 20, SAYING: "It certainly has not come at the right time with all the events that happened recently that are extremely shocking, but it's an event that was decided a long time in advance, so cancelling it would be a political, even diplomatic act and fundamentally putting on this Tel Aviv event clearly does not mean supporting the State of Israel." PEOPLE ON BANK OF SEINE NEXT TO PARIS BEACH VARIOUS OF WOMAN PLAYING WITH CHILD IN THE SAND STREET FOOD STAND ON RIVER BANK (SOUNDBITE) (French) STREET FOOD STAND HOLDER, JEAN-PAUL DUFOUR, SAYING: "It's about us opening up to the outside world, getting to know products from Israel." BOAT PASSING ON THE SEINE PARIS BEACH STAFF WALKING ON BANKS OF RIVER SEINE WITH EIFFEL TOWER IN THE BACKGROUND PARIS CITY HALL PARIS, FRANCE (AUGUST 12, 2015) (REUTERS) PARIS DEPUTY MAYOR, BRUNO JULLIARD, IN HIS OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS DEPUTY MAYOR, BRUNO JULLIARD, SAYING: "It is not by rejecting all initiatives which come from cities in Israel that we are going to support peace in Israel and Palestine. We are convinced the opposite is true. Instead we have to promote those who defend values that are similar to ours. That's true of Tel Aviv which is itself a city often hated by the most radical Israelis. So our interest is instead in promoting the city of Tel Aviv." VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN ROLLER SKATING ON BANK OF RIVER SEINE NEXT TO PARIS BEACH PEOPLE WALKING ON BANKS OF RIVER SEINE NEXT TO PARIS BEACH BAND PLAYING UNDER A BRIDGE ON BANKS OF RIVER NEXT TO PARIS BEACH
- Embargoed: 27th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAE3PU2FSTYM0YPT8VYDSGYIX6A
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Paris' decision to celebrate Tel Aviv on Thursday (13 July) as part of its annual beach-on-the-Seine festival has sparked controversy, with leftist critics branding the event as "indecent" following the death of a baby killed in an arson attack in the West Bank.
France has both the largest Jewish and Muslim populations in Europe and flare-ups in the Middle East have often in the past triggered tensions between the two communities.
The beach festival in the heart of Paris turns the banks of the river each summer into a makeshift beach with sand, sun-loungers, cocktails and beach volleyball.
Foreign seaside cities have been honoured in the past. This time some 300 police will be on duty in the area devoted to Tel Aviv between two bridges near Paris's Notre Dame cathedral from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (0800 GMT-2000 GMT) on Thursday, the one day dedicated to the Israeli city in the month-long festival.
Pro-Palestinian and leftist groups have called on people to gather on Thursday in the same area and create their own "Gaza on Seine".
An online petition calling for the Seine event to be cancelled has gathered more than 20,000 signatures. Paris's Green party city councillors, despite being allies of Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo, condemned the event as "de facto backing Israel's policies".
"We can't celebrate a way of life, joie de vivre on the beaches just a few days after a baby was burned, a year after Gaza. For a large number of our fellow citizens and for public opinion it's incomprehensible. We have to send messages, including to the Israelis, including to those Israelis who are fighting against the government of (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, saying that when that situation exists in a country we can't pretend all of a sudden that for a day that all exists in a bubble and that we're going to celebrate with DJs, mojitos and gastronomy," said Eric Coquerel of the Parti de Gauche.
A Palestinian man and his 18-month-old son were killed when their house in Duma village was set ablaze on July 31, an act Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as terrorism.
People at Paris Plage said they saw the event more as a cultural event and without a strong political meaning behind it.
"It certainly has not come at the right time with all the events that happened recently that are extremely shocking, but it's an event that was decided a long time in advance, so cancelling it would be a political, even diplomatic act and fundamentally putting on this Tel Aviv event clearly does not mean supporting the State of Israel," said political science student Marie Villiers.
"It's about us opening up to the outside world, getting to know products from Israel," said street food stand holder Jean Paul Dufour.
For Hidalgo and her deputy Bruno Julliard, the event, which will include DJs and Mediterranean foodtrucks reminiscent of famously freewheeling and liberal Tel Aviv, is about dialogue between cultures.
"It is not by rejecting all initiatives which come from cities in Israel that we are going to support peace in Israel and Palestine. We are convinced the opposite is true. Instead we have to promote those who defend values that are similar to ours. That's true of Tel Aviv which is itself a city often hated by the most radical Israelis. So our interest is instead in promoting the city of Tel Aviv," Julliard said.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Twitter: "Total support to the initiative of the city of Paris #TelAvivsurSeine.
Eytan Schwartz, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai's adviser for foreign affairs, wrote on his Facebook page: "We have friends in France and it is inspiring that they are standing by our side."
Security has been tight in Paris since the January attacks in which 17 people were killed in attacks by Islamist gunmen on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper and a Jewish shop.
Following the killings, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to increase Jewish immigration from France and other European states, where he said there was "terrible anti-Semitism".
That prompted some tensions with the French government, which had told French Jews they belonged in France and would be protected.
The "Tel Aviv on Seine" event was decided when Hidalgo travelled to the region in May. Other kinds of partnership were also established with Palestinian cities at the time, the municipality said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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