Bruno Retailleau, the candidate of France's conservative Les Républicains in the 2027 presidential election, visited the site of the Nova music festival on Wednesday morning to mark three years since the October 7 attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Bruno Retailleau at the Nova music festival site on Wednesday © X
Bruno Retailleau, the candidate of France's conservative Les Républicains in the 2027 presidential election, visited the site of the Nova music festival on Wednesday morning to mark three years since the October 7 attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
"Three years ago, here, thousands of innocent young people were dancing at dawn. 364 of them were massacred by Hamas terrorists, others were abducted and tortured. Because they were Jews," he wrote on X.
He said more than 1,200 people were killed that morning, most of them civilians, and 251 were taken hostage, including children, women and elderly people. Fifty-one French nationals died, either on October 7 or in captivity, in what he called "the worst pogrom since the Shoah."
Retailleau said he came to Israel to honor the victims' memory, to grieve with their families and to tell them that, despite a resurgence of antisemitism that "shames our history," there is "a France that does not forget." That France, he said, does not downplay the atrocities committed by Hamas or look for excuses for "Islamist barbarism," and represents "the overwhelming majority of the French."
"Before their faces and their names, I swear it: we will not forget you," he wrote.
In a country where politics has become a bare-knuckled brawl, Isaac Herzog, the mild-mannered president now tasked with persuading Israel's party leaders to lower their fists and form a government, is a throwback to a gentler era.
President Isaac Herzog urged Israel’s political leaders on Sunday to accept the outcome of last week’s election and show flexibility in coalition talks, warning that political entrenchment could drag the country into yet another vote.
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange suffered one of its worst sessions in months after the election produced no clear winner, wiping out all its October gains. The shekel tumbled, long-term government bonds fell and the local volatility index jumped 30%.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
