At the beginning of the week, Christian Estrosi called for a citizen gathering for the Republic and against anti-Semitism. 4,000 people responded, present on November 7 at 11:30 AM, in front of the Théâtre de Verdure.
“We are all Jewish this morning,” declared Christian Estrosi in front of a crowd of 4,000 people gathered around the Centenary Monument, facing the Promenade des Anglais.
The mayor of Nice and president of the NCA metropolis had called for a massive gathering of Niçois citizens on November 9, amid a resurgence of anti-Semitic acts. The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France Southeast/Corse (CRIF) joined the demonstration.
“Since the early 2000s in France, many people have died just because they were Jewish,” reminded Jérôme Culioli, president of the CRIF in Alpes-Maritimes, who listed the names of the victims of anti-Semitism at the microphone, from Sébastien Selam in 2003 to Mireille Knoll in 2018.
Many political figures were present, such as the mayor of Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Joseph Segura, the prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, Hugues Moutouh, the deputy Philippe Pradal, and senator Dominique Estrosi-Sassone, along with representatives of various faiths.
Les Insoumis once again in Christian Estrosi’s sights
Opposition elected officials from communists to the Zemmourian Reconquête party stood on the platform alongside the mayor, except for those identifying with the Insoumis. The mayor did not miss the opportunity to comment on their absence.
He reaffirmed his strictness towards Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s party: “Since October 7, a whole part of the France Insoumise has stepped out of the republican arc, by equating terrorists and a attacked democracy.” LFI deputy Danièle Obono notably referred to Hamas as a “resistance movement”, adding controversy to the controversy.
“For us, in France, resistance is embodied by Jean Moulin, and I would say that the leader of Hamas is rather Klaus Barbie,” repeated Christian Estrosi.
An anti-Semitic hatred, bastard child of a barbaric political Islamism,”
Christian Estrosi, accompanied by his wife Laura Tenoudji, was greeted with applause and spoke for about ten minutes. His speech was one of solidarity with the Jews of the world and severity against those attacking them. He spoke of “an anti-Semitic hatred, bastard child of a blind and destructive barbaric political Islamism,” which aims to “destroy our Republic.”
During the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 40 French people were killed, 8 were abducted and remain missing. Since that date, 1,200 anti-Semitic acts have been identified on French soil, around sixty in the department, according to the prefect. “They are not the face of Alpes-Maritimes, of Nice, nor of Cannes, Antibes, Grasse, or any other town or village in our department,” asserts Hugues Moutouh.
“Our fellow Jewish citizens are afraid, afraid to wear a kippah, afraid to place a mezuzah, afraid to walk alone in the street, afraid of being recognized as Jews. This fear, they know well, is what their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents felt before them and hoped to escape,” affirms Christian Estrosi, as the noon cannon of Nice sounds.
“We will fight, we will not back down,”
The Marseillaise, followed by the European anthem, was played by a brass band and sung by the assembly to close this peaceful gathering. Christian Estrosi, very moved, addressed a final word to the crowd before shaking a few hands: “We will fight, we will not back down, not at all.” Amid the thanks, supporters of the mayor even chanted “Estrosi, president!”
The mayor of Nice also honored the memory of Jacques Chirac. He was the first president of the Fifth Republic to recognize “the faults of the past”, notably the responsibility of the French State in the deportation and extermination of Jews during the Second World War, in his Vel’ d’Hiv speech in July 1995.
The mayor of Nice recalled having voted for the creation of a Shoah Memorial branch in Nice, in the presence of the Klarfels couple, during the municipal council on November 7.
Another gathering in support of Jews took place at 3 PM in front of the Palais des rois sardes, in Vieux-Nice. The association of mayors of Alpes-Maritimes, chaired by Jérôme Viaud, had called all French people to gather in front of each prefecture to join the civic march organized in Paris, initiated by the president of the Senate Gérard Larcher and the president of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet.
Despite the organizers’ request, Christian Estrosi did not want to cancel his morning gathering to merge it with the afternoon one. Thus, there were two gatherings against anti-Semitism on November 12 in Nice. The mayor of Nice did not attend the second but was represented by members of his majority.
