Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused France of giving in to the invasion of extremist Islam in statements made during an interview with channel i24News, quoted by AFP.
© ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
20/10/2026
by
Lusa
O israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that France, affected by episodes of violence and pillage during the weekend, “bled to the invasion of extremist Islam.”.
“ They did not prepare in time, they simply gave up, they gave in to the invasion of extremist Islam,” Netanyahu said during the interview with the Israeli channel i24News, quoted by the agency France-Presse (AFP).
“Fight. Do not seek appeasement, fight extremists,” Netanyahu advised in response to a question from the journalist about what advice he would give to France.
The Israeli leader claimed to have warned French President Emmanuel Macron after the attack of October 7, 2023, executed by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel.
“ If we don't eliminate them here, they'll have them in Paris. And that is exactly what is happening,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu's words echo speeches often made by far-right political figures and commentators in the West who claim, without basis, that certain regions of Europe are subject to Islamic law due to the presence of immigrant populations, allegations that have raised accusations of Islamophobia.
The American President Donald Trump made similar statements, stating that France is being “taken of assault, looted and burned by migrants, jihadists and communists”.
On Saturday, in full national mobilization for purchasing power, several French cities were the scene of looting and disturbances.
These violent episodes resulted in about 2,400 arrests, and about a thousand police and gendarmes (military police) were injured, authorities said.
Relations between France and Israel have deteriorated since Paris officially recognized the State of Palestine in September 2025.
At the time, the head of the Israeli government accused Emmanuel Macron of “feeding the anti-Semitic fire” in France.
Israel holds on 27 October elections to elect the 120 members of the 26th session of the Knesset (Parliament), the first electoral act since the Hamas attacks that in 2023 hit the country and strongly destabilized the Middle East.