French foreign minister faces criminal complaint over misquoting Francesca Albanese
French foreign minister faces criminal complaint over misquoting Francesca Albanese
A coalition of French legal professionals has submitted a formal document to the Paris prosecutor’s office, alleging that the nation’s chief diplomat has spread misleading information about Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on Palestine. The claim follows remarks by Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who recently called for Albanese’s resignation based on a misinterpretation of her statements.
Jurdi’s legal response
The Association of Lawyers for the Respect of International Law (Jurdi) highlighted the issue on Thursday, noting that Barrot’s comments were fueled by a partial quote from Albanese’s address at the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha. The minister had responded to a query from Renaissance MP Caroline Yadan, who had previously misrepresented Albanese’s position.
Albanese used the term “common enemy” in two separate Doha speeches, one in February and another in December, to critique the political, military, and economic systems supporting Israel’s conflict in Gaza. In her February speech, she stated:
“We now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy and the respect of fundamental freedoms is the last peaceful avenue, the last peaceful toolbox that we have to regain our freedom.”
Her December remarks further elaborated:
“Palestine is allowing us to see what the law becomes when it’s in the hands of power. Palestine is allowing us to see what connects all injustices; what happens to Yemen, to Sudan, to Congo, and including in places where poverty has not been so rooted as it is today for a long time, including in the West. We have a common enemy and we need to face it, where the politics is at the service of economic interests.”
Jurdi emphasized that Barrot’s statements during a parliamentary session on 11 February raised alarms about “the spread of demonstrably false information by public officials.” The organization argued that the minister’s portrayal of Albanese’s comments as hate speech or an attack on “Israel as a people and as a nation” was misleading.
Albanese’s defense
Albanese, in a message on X, criticized the European governments for accusing her of statements she never made. She noted the “virulence and conviction” with which her remarks were cited, contrasting it with the lack of similar intensity in condemning other groups responsible for the deaths of over 20,000 children in Gaza over 858 days.
Jurdi clarified that Albanese’s use of the phrase “common enemy” referred to “a system in which politics serves economic interests,” not Israel itself. The lawyers stressed that the comments were part of a larger examination of alleged international law violations in Gaza and aligned with Albanese’s official role.
Other European ministers, including those from Germany and Italy, had also demanded Albanese’s resignation over the same misinterpretations. Jurdi pointed out that pro-Israel group UN Watch had shared truncated excerpts of her speech on social media, leading to a distorted narrative that was later amplified by public figures like Yadan.
Under French law, presenting false information with intent to disrupt public order could be considered a criminal act. Jurdi asserted that Barrot’s characterization of Albanese’s remarks as targeting “Israel as a people and as a nation” might constitute the spread of untruths, as she neither made nor endorsed such claims.
