FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

Paris, May 22, 2026. Eight French citizens disembarked at Charles-de-Gaulle airport in the late afternoon, greeted by dozens of supporters chanting 'Long live the Palestinian people's struggle.' They were part of the 36 French people on board the 'Global Sumud Flotilla,' the third attempt in a year to break Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza. The flotilla, which brought together around 430 activists from several countries on 50 ships, was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters on May 18, 2026. Two of the 36 French people were still hospitalized in Turkey when their comrades returned.

At a press conference at Roissy, Meriem Hadjal, a 38-year-old nurse and activist with the group 'Waves of Freedom-France,' spoke emotionally. During the transfer to Israel, she described, a soldier 'started touching my chest. Then I took big, deafening slaps on the head, the touching continued.' She added that she was taken 'one by one into a black container,' saying, 'I thought at that moment that I was going to be raped.' Adrien Bertel, 33, spoke of 'beatings' in the dark and an additional layer of violence related to his nail polish – the soldiers having called him 'gay' in an assumed tone. Yasmine Scola, 29, described 36 hours spent handcuffed in the back, including when going to the bathroom – 'a significant effect of torture.' She also reported humiliating 'parades' imposed on women, forced to kneel before soldiers who insulted or mocked them.

Adrien Bertel stated that within the group, 'at least 37' people had bone fractures and that 'at least 16' had reported sexual violence. These numbers match the count released by the flotilla organizers, who report at least 15 documented cases of sexual aggression, including rape.

The Israeli prison administration responded to the accusations in a statement sent to AFP, calling them 'false and devoid of any factual basis,' stating that 'all prisoners and detainees are treated in accordance with the law, in respect of their fundamental rights.' On Wednesday, May 20, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir published a video showing dozens of activists kneeling, front to the ground, hands tied – a sequence that sparked criticism not only internationally but within the Israeli government itself.