French police launch probe after Israeli rabbi threatens Macron

PARIS FRANCE: The Paris prosecutor’s office on Friday opened an investigation following threatening remarks directed at French President Emmanuel Macron by Israeli rabbi David Daniel Cohen in an online video, France 24 reported.

The rabbi’s remarks were reportedly motivated by the French government’s decision to formally recognise a Palestinian state, slated for September.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau condemned the statements on X, calling them “totally unacceptable remarks” and noting that Cohen “made several abhorrent threats, notably against the President of the Republic,” according to France 24.

Retailleau said he contacted the French government’s online Pharos platform, which monitors dangerous and criminal content, and “also reported these remarks to the justice system under Article 40 of the criminal procedure code,” France 24 reported.

In the YouTube video, Cohen warned, “This French president, he needs to know – he better prepare his coffin. God will show him what it means to want to be so brazen and to want to make statements against God,” as cited by France 24.

The rabbi accused Macron of expressing “profound anti-Semitism” and “declaring war on God” by recognising a Palestinian state.

Strongly condemning “the abhorrent and intolerable remarks by Daniel David Cohen,” France’s Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia clarified on X that Cohen “has never held any rabbinical position in France, was not trained by nor graduated from France’s rabbinical school,” France 24 reported.

This controversy comes amid escalating diplomatic tensions between France and Algeria, as French President Emmanuel Macron has directed his government to tighten visa requirements for Algerian diplomats in response to disputes over the deportation of Algerian nationals, France 24 reported.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, Macron said that France is facing “growing difficulties” with Algeria in terms of migration and security, necessitating a firmer stance against the former French colony. France 24 reported that Macron’s directive comes amid deepening friction between Paris and Algiers.

Macron asked Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot to formally notify Algeria of the suspension of a 2013 bilateral agreement, which exempted diplomatic and official passport holders from visa obligations. The move marks a significant step in revisiting long-standing diplomatic protocols between the two countries.

According to France 24, Macron also instructed Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to coordinate with Schengen zone countries to help enforce the revised visa policy. Specifically, France has requested these countries to consult Paris before issuing short-stay visas to Algerian officials and those using passports covered under the 2013 agreement.

“France must be strong and command respect. It can only receive this from its partners if it shows them the respect it demands from them. This basic rule also applies to Algeria,” Macron said, as quoted in the letter.

Tensions between the two nations have intensified since France recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in July 2024, a decision that strained ties with Algeria, France 24 noted.

Relations further deteriorated after Algerian authorities arrested Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal in November, and reached a tipping point in February when an Algerian national— whom France had tried unsuccessfully to deport —was arrested as the suspect in a deadly knife attack in Mulhouse. One person was killed and three others injured in the incident.

France 24 highlighted that Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has been vocal about the need to overhaul France’s visa and migration arrangements with Algeria. Retailleau has cited Algeria’s persistent refusal to accept the return of its nationals ordered to leave France under the “OQTF” (obligation to leave French territory) deportation regime as a key issue.

The decision signals a tougher diplomatic line from France as it seeks to address long-standing concerns over repatriation, security cooperation, and reciprocal diplomatic conduct with Algeria. (ANI)