Until now it was the Prime Minister who addressed the Jews of France at the Great Synagogue of Paris
PARIS—For the first time a French President will address the country’s Jews on the occasion of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which will begin on 9 September.
President Emmanuel Macron will address the Jewish community during a speech in the Great Synagogue of rue de la Victoire in Paris.
Until 2013, it was the Minister of the Interior – in charge of the cults – who presented the wishes of the government to the Jewish community, which is the largest in Europe with around half a million members.
Since 2014 and the appointment of Manuel Valls as Prime Minister, the heads of the government presides in person the evening.
During the second round of the last presidential election in May 2017, Jewish community leaders had called for a massive vote in favor of Emmanuel Macron in order to block the extreme-right candidate Marine Le Pen.
But Macron’s popularity within the Jewish community has dropped over the last months because of his violent criticism of Israel’s policies and his support for terrorist Salah Hamouri, a French-Palestinian who was indicted in Israel for planning to assassinate Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and for being a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.