France Redefines 'Free Speech' for Palestine, Invokes 2025 Retrospective
The New Arab , reporting on France in the year 2025, notes a sharp crackdown on pro-Palestine advocacy, citing policed protests, cancelled debates, and dissolved groups. One might wonder how the French government developed such predictive capabilities to suppress speech so decisively in a year that hasn't happened yet. (Perhaps they've been studying Orwell's diaries.) This 'foresight' appears to
be a natural progression from France's controversial 'separatism law' of 2021, which ostensibly targeted radical Islam but has been weaponized against various forms of dissent. The crackdown on BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) activities, dating back to 2015, also set a clear precedent, effectively criminalizing certain forms of political expression deemed 'incitement'. It's almost as if the
groundwork was meticulously laid to ensure that critiques of Israeli policy are always perceived as threats to French 'values,' even before the 'future' arrives. One might ask, what happened to 'Liberté, égalité, fraternité' when 'fraternité' with Palestinians is on the chopping block?