French lawyers have submitted a request to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for an investigation into the role of French officials “in the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide” by Israeli forces against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
In a 56-page communication made public by the French investigative media outlet Blast on Monday, the 114 lawyers named President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu and 19 lawmakers of the National Assembly’s European Affairs Committee.
A communication to the ICC is the equivalent of a criminal complaint to the court on an alleged crime falling under its jurisdiction.
It is addressed to the Office of the ICC Prosecutor in accordance with Article 15 of the Rome Statute, which states that the prosecutor may open proprio motu investigations (i.e. on their own initiative) based on information relating to crimes within the court’s jurisdiction.
The lawyers, representing an NGO called Pour la Justice au Proche-Orient (“for justice in the Middle East”) note that: “Far from taking concrete measures to prevent the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians, the members of the French executive cited in this communication have continued to support the criminal actions of the government of Israel by providing military, political, economic, diplomatic and propaganda support to that state, including by providing the means to commit the crimes in question.”
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on
Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
According to them, “It has been demonstrated that the French executive branch has played a decisive role in providing support to Israel in various forms; and that this support has had a substantial effect on the commission of the crimes in question”.
“It has been demonstrated that the French authorities knew that they were (and still are) participating in the commission of the crimes in question, by aiding and abetting the perpetrators. Their knowledge of the consequences of their actions or conduct establishes the mens rea required for personal liability in cases of complicity by aiding and abetting,” they added.
In national or international criminal law, mens rea is a state of guilty mind that a person entertains while committing a crime.
New report accuses France of ‘continuously’ delivering military equipment to Israel
Read More »
The communication sets out the French executive’s knowledge of the crimes, that is, the statements made by Israeli leaders and officials inciting and announcing genocidal acts, and includes a factual summary of the various acts (including statements) by French officials that could be characterised as complicity.
“This communication also demonstrates that the French President and the ministers cited above acted, through a series of positive acts and omissions, in the exercise of their official functions, with full knowledge that their actions and omissions would provide substantial assistance to the perpetrators of the crimes concerned; such that they must be considered to have acted ‘with the aim of facilitating the commission of this/these crime(s)’, within the meaning of Article 25(3)(c) and (d) of the Rome Statute,” the lawyers wrote.
They cite, among others, statements by the French prime minister who, on 7 May, justified Israel’s actions in Gaza by saying: “We must not forget, however, that this bomb would not have exploded without a detonator. This detonator is the events of 7 October: a pogrom, there is no other word for it, which killed, tore apart and injured young girls, boys, children and babies.”
For the lawyers, Bayrou’s statement endorses Israel’s position and provides “explicit support for the manner in which the Israeli army is ‘responding'”.
A report by a coalition of NGOs in June accused France of “regularly and continuously” delivering military equipment to Israel since the start of its war on Gaza.
According to the study, deliveries have been continuous, both by sea and by air, since October 2023.
They include more than 15 million “bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles and other munitions of war” worth more than $8m, as well as 1,868 “parts and accessories for rocket launchers, grenades, flamethrowers, artillery, military rifles and hunting rifles” worth more than $2m.
MP’s trips paid by pro-Israel group
The signatories warn they do not rule out a subsequent referral concerning other ministers, MPs or even local elected officials, media executives, leaders of lobbying groups and NGOs who “justified, encouraged or provided assistance” to the commission of Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
In particular, the lawyers cite the lobbying group ELNET (European Leadership Network) as a cornerstone of pro-Israel influence and disinformation campaigns in France.
‘Rendering justice to Palestinian victims requires not only investigating the perpetrators of these crimes, but also investigating the individuals who, in the exercise of their powers and functions, enabled, encouraged or facilitated the commission of these crimes’
– Communication to the ICC
“Various journalistic investigations have established that French elected officials in key positions have been influenced by ELNET since at least 2017, by participating in fully funded trips to Israel,” the document reads, adding that 15 percent of French MPs’ trips have been organised by ELNET since 2017.
These trips, “accompanied by various gifts and privileges, are aimed at directly influencing French elected officials in favour of the Israeli government, including when it commits crimes provided for in the Rome Statute.”
The lawyers conclude by saying: “Rendering justice to Palestinian victims requires not only investigating the perpetrators of these crimes, but also investigating the individuals who, in the exercise of their powers and functions, enabled, encouraged or facilitated the commission of these crimes within the meaning of Article 25 of the Statute, and without whom these crimes could not have been committed on such a serious, widespread and prolonged basis.”
On Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza announced that the death toll from Israel’s war on the enclave since 7 October 2023 had exceeded 60,000 people, the majority of them civilians.
As the bombs are now compounded by a deadly famine caused by Israel’s siege, the war is now widely described as a genocide by a growing number of countries, including Ireland and Spain, major human rights groups and international legal experts.
