“We can disagree with Israel on how to respond and protect itself, but we cannot say that Israel is an attacker”, unlike Russia, which “has decided on a war of aggression against Ukraine that has been going on for more than two years”, he declared. Israel “is responding to this terrorist attack by fighting Hamas, the terrorist group that attacked it on October 7.”

‘’The Israeli flag will be there, the athletes will be there,’’ French President Emmanuel Macron said about the Paris Olympic Games in July.

He was responding to the call – mainly from the extreme-left in France- of having Israeli athletes compte under a neutral banner at the games and for Israel to be banned because of the Gaza war.

Macron said  in an interview with BFMTV and RMC he “hopes” that in this context, Israeli athletes “will be vectors of peace, because they will have to compete with many players in the region”.

“What we also ask of the athletes is decency, i.e. not to make disrespectful remarks, to show respect for others and opponents, and not to play politics”, he said.

“We can disagree with Israel on how to respond and protect itself, but we cannot say that Israel is an attacker”, unlike Russia, which “has decided on a war of aggression against Ukraine that has been going on for more than two years”, he compared.

Israel “is responding to this terrorist attack by fighting Hamas, the terrorist group that attacked it on October 7”, killing more than 1,170 people, the French president said.