French Prime Minister Manuel Valls (Socialist Party) told the National Assembly that he and his government were opposed to any form of boycott targeting Israel.
"I tell you here clearly: we condemn all campaigns of boycott against Israeli products," he told the French parliament in response to a question from lawmaker Meyer Habib on the anti-Israeli BDS campaign.
"The boycott creates a climate of hatred in France. Have we forgotten that in January it was a kosher supermarket that was targeted. It stigmatizes before killing," said Habib, who represents French citizens living abroad, including those in Israel.
The French Supreme Court upheld a judgment in October condemning BDS activists who had called for a boycott of Israeli products. Habib lamented in his question that calls for a boycott persisted in France.
"There is no sense in these campaigns and therefore the French government from this point of view is very clear," Valls said in response, assuring that his government would take "all necessary measures to condemn these campaigns."
"Too often, anti-Zionism hides behind legitimate criticism of the policy of the State of Israel and turns into anti-Semitism," the PM said.
"Israel is a democracy and fights against terrorism,’’ he added. Valls recalled France’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: rejection of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the need for dialogue, and the two-state solution.
He did not comment further on a question from Habib regarding the recent decision by the European Commission to require all settlement products to be labeled separately from other Israeli products.
