Paris municipality passes anti-BDS resolutions

Two new submissions to the city council reflect France’s harsh stance against boycotting Israel

The Paris City Council adopted two nonbinding resolutions condemning attempts to boycott Israel, which are illegal in France.

The two resolutions, one submitted by the Socialist-led coalition of Mayor Anne Hidalgo and the other by center-right members of the City Council, were adopted Tuesday, according to the French-language Muslim news website saphirnews.com.

One of the resolutions said the City of Paris “opposes publicly all attempts to isolate Israel from the collective of nations,” and also reaffirmed the city’s “commitment to the promotion of a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israel conflict.”

Several activists for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or BDS, against Israel have been convicted of hate crimes in recent years because of legislation from 2003 that proscribes discrimination against nations or their citizens.

Both resolutions named the BDS movement specifically, stating that the city objects to its goals.

Pro-Palestinian “Gaza Beach” protesters chant slogans on the sidelines of “Tel Aviv Sur Seine”, a beach event celebrating Tel Aviv, in central Paris on August 13, 2015. (AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD)

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, the president of the center-right Republicans opposition bloc, said in an interview published Monday by the L’Arche magazine that her party decided to submit the draft motion following attempts last year to prevent the Tel Aviv Sur Seine event from taking place.

Following protests and calls to cancel the event, which celebrated the Israeli city on a bank of the River Seine, the City of Paris gave protesters permission to hold a similar event highlighting Gaza.