The French government asked this Wednesday (11) for the resignation of the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, after she made comments last Saturday (8), at a forum in Doha, in which she mentioned the existence of a “common enemy” in the context of the war in Gaza, referring to Israel.
According to agency France-Presse (AFP)French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated in front of French parliamentarians that Paris “unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible statements” made by the rapporteur, adding that the statements were not just aimed at the Israeli government, “whose policies can be criticized”, but “Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable”.
According to the AFPthe rapporteur participated via video conference in a forum organized by the broadcaster Al Jazeerain Qatar, where he declared that, “instead of stopping Israel, most of the world armed, gave political excuses, political shelter and economic and financial support”. He then stated: “We who do not control large financial capital, algorithms and weapons, now see that, as humanity, we have a common enemy.”
As reported in the newspaper The Worldthe rapporteur denied in an interview with the channel France 24 having said that “Israel is the common enemy of humanity” and classified the interpretation of his words as “completely false accusations” and “manipulation”.
Barrot declared this Wednesday that the rapporteur’s statements add to “a long list of scandalous positions” attributed to her, accusing her of having justified the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks against Israel and of having made comparisons between Israel and the Third Reich.
“She is a political activist who incites hate speech and harms the cause of the Palestinian people,” said the minister.
According to the The World20 French deputies sent a letter to the French chancellery asking that the rapporteur be “removed from any UN mandate with immediate effect”.
Albanese was targeted by Donald Trump administration sanctions last year. In July 2025, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the White House had revoked her visas and imposed financial restrictions, including the blocking of any assets under American jurisdiction, under the allegation that her actions constituted a political campaign against Israel and the United States within the scope of her mandate at the UN.
