The suspension of the twinning between the city of Antibes and the Israeli city of Eilat is being considered by associations in the 06 region. Israel’s actions are being condemned by many organizations in the Alpes-Maritimes.
After a gathering at Charles de Gaulle Square in Antibes on June 1st, and a letter to the mayor on July 15th, several associations from the Alpes-Maritimes demanded the suspension of the twinning between Antibes and Eilat. This Israeli city, without a historic center, plays a major economic role for the Hebrew state as the country’s third commercial port. Following the position taken by associations in the Alpes-Maritimes, a petition was launched over two months ago. As of the time of writing, 540 people have signed it.
On May 6, 2022, during the vote on twinning with New Orleans at the city council, Michèle Muratore, opposition socialist councilor, asked Mayor Jean Leonetti to comment on the future of the twinning with the Russian city of Krasnogorsk. Like other organizations, La France Insoumise 06 and the Antibes – Casa Human Rights League had written this letter on July 15th. “The suspension of the twinning with the city of Krasnogorsk in 2022 allowed Antibes to avoid being a cover for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”
When questioned, Michèle Muratore, socialist opposition councilor, supports: “rather than asking for the suspension of the twinning with Eilat, since nothing is happening anyway, it would only be for show, we want to twin with a Palestinian city. Now, Gaza will be welcome, especially since this fits within the framework of Emmanuel Macron’s recognition of the Palestinian State.”
“We, the Human Rights League, are not in a radical position. We are simply asking for a suspension of the twinning. In our case, there’s still the double standards,” reacted Jean-Paul Sozedde, President of the Human Rights League (LDH) of the Antibes Sophia section. The links between Antibes and Eilat are not new, dating back over 40 years to former mayor Pierre Merli.
Creating a Charter and Twinning with Other Cities
The councilor from “the leftist, ecological, and democratic solidarity” hopes for the creation of a charter by the Antibes municipality. Michèle Muratore wants to give meaning to the creation of a set of rules and principles to connect other cities to Antibes. Organizations or cities have already implemented this method. Among them are “the charter of fraternal and spiritual twinning” between the Diocese of Saint-Étienne and Batroun in Lebanon, in May 2021, or an agreement between the municipalities of Leiria and Quint-Fonsegrives, one in Portugal, the other in France, in March 2013.
The President of the LDH Antibes – Sophia Antipolis Agglomeration Community or Casa has another approach, which can complement the first proposal. “I would like other links to be a little less Western and less white. Even if it’s just a Spanish-speaking city, there isn’t one. For example, we could mention Florianópolis in Brazil, or an Asian city, and why not an African city.”
Two Versions of the Same Incident
On August 20th, outside the Juan-les-Pins train station, militants from La France Insoumise 06 distributed flyers to suspend the link between the two cities. Among them were two militants, including LFI-NFP candidate from the 7th district, Arthur Meyer-Abbatucci. The left-wing party and the local LDH condemned the pressure exerted by the municipal police.
According to the municipal police, it dispersed a group of people hostile to the distribution of flyers, unrelated to the party. “I don’t know what the police are talking about when they mention a hostile group against the flyers. There was no one else present except the person who insulted us,” explained Adrien Nouet, LFI militant present at the Juan-les-Pins station during the incident.
Contacted, Claude Marchais, President of the Antibes twinning association, declined to respond to our inquiries. Olivier Darcq, the communications director of the municipality, considered that the suspension “is not an issue; we do not respond to these claims and assertions.”
