France has quietly resumed evacuations of Palestinians from Gaza, with 20 individuals brought back this Sunday by the Quai d’Orsay. The process was halted over the summer following a scandal involving antisemitic posts by a Gazan student. Enhanced checks have enabled this cautious restart.
Twenty Palestinians were evacuated from the Gaza Strip to France this Sunday, according to a diplomatic source cited by Le Figaro, confirming reports from Libération. They are mainly scholarship students. Initially planned for a larger group, the operation was scaled back at the last moment due to missing necessary authorizations. «These operations [...] which require the full commitment of all state services with diplomatic network support, depend on local authorizations needed to exit the enclave and transit to France», the source explains, highlighting the «extraordinary difficulty on the ground and very high risk» for evacuees and convoy operators.
These students are expected to arrive in France this Tuesday. Those excluded from this wave will be included in a future operation. The process is managed by a crisis cell established two years ago at the French consulate in Jerusalem, targeting French nationals, their dependents, staff from the French Institute in Gaza, scholarship holders, and Palestinian figures linked to France. Lists are prepared by the Quai d’Orsay crisis center, security-checked by Israeli authorities, visa-processed by the consular post, and police-file reviewed by the Interior Ministry.
By April 2025, around 500 people had already been evacuated since October 7, 2023. «In these efforts, we scrupulously ensure that those evacuated to our country respect the values and principles of the Republic», the diplomatic source states.
Evacuations were frozen over the summer after discovering antisemitic social media posts by Nour Atallah, a 25-year-old Gazan student on a «France Excellence» scholarship for Sciences Po Lille. Placed in custody and investigated for «apology of terrorism and apology of crimes against humanity», she left France for Qatar. The Interior and Foreign Affairs ministers traded blame for the oversight. An internal inquiry led to an immediate suspension announced on August 1 by Jean-Noël Barrot, with re-verification of all arrivals. Strengthened controls have since allowed operations to resume.