France Prepares to Sue Israel Over Violence Against Flotilla Activists

Paris — Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France may take legal action against the Israeli military’s brutal treatment of Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) participants, some of whom are French citizens. “Beyond condemnation, which is necessary from a political standpoint, we must act because there are French citizens among the victims. We cannot rule out reporting all actions captured in the video to our legal authorities. No one should attack French citizens with impunity and without any response,” Lecornu said. The video referred to by Lecornu was posted by Israeli national security chief Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday (20 May 2026), showing Israeli security forces forcing flotilla activists to kneel on the floor in a bound position. Ben-Gvir is also seen in the video making provocative statements about the participants. GSF reported 30 cases of broken bones among its activists while accusing Israeli forces of violence.