French Presidential Candidate Pledges to Escort His Country's Ships in Support Fleets for Palestine

French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon pledged that French ships would accompany solidarity fleets supporting the Palestinian people, if necessary, should he win the election. Mélenchon, the candidate of the “La France Insoumise” party, outlined his campaign promises during a mass rally held in the French city of Bourges on Saturday evening. In a speech at the event, Mélenchon stated that efforts must be made to address major issues threatening humanity’s future. He added, “This requires identifying these problems and naming them for what they are, describing genocide as genocide, and not euphemizing it.” He noted that, if elected president of France, he would take direct action to assist Palestinians in facing the genocide in the Gaza Strip and the gradual annexation of the occupied West Bank. He continued, “French ships will accompany, like Italian and Spanish ships, fleets comprising citizens moving to defend the rights of the Palestinian people, if necessary. We do not accept the annexation of the West Bank, southern Lebanon, or the Golan Heights.” The French presidential elections are scheduled to be held in two rounds on April 18 and May 2, 2027. Since October 2023, Israel has been waging a genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, while its military and settlers have escalated attacks in the West Bank, including killings, arrests, home demolitions, displacement of Palestinians, land confiscation, and expansion of settlements. It is worth noting that naval convoys named the “Freedom Flotilla” periodically set sail toward Gaza as an international civil initiative to deliver humanitarian aid and highlight severe violations and Israeli practices against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, although Israel intercepts them and prevents their arrival in the Strip.