The French government not only wants to avoid an escalation in the Middle East. It also wants to prevent the conflict from being imported into France. Fifty anti-Semitic acts have reportedly been committed since the weekend.
ADVERTISEMENTThe heads of the European Union's three main institutions gather outside the European Parliament in Brussels to observe a minute's silence for those killed in the Hamas attack in Israel.
The symbolic moment was mirrored in the German and Romanian parliaments.
EU Parliament president Roberta Metsola says October 7th will "go down in global infamy".
"We are here with the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and all of you as one to express our solidarity, to condemn the appalling acts of terror and murder and to demand the immediate release of hostages," Metsola told the crowd.
French government spokesperson Olivier Veran said everything must be done to avoid escalation in the Middle East and protect the civilian population:
"These unjustifiable terrorist attacks by Hamas must not distract us from the search for a lasting peace and a political solution to the conflict," he said on Wednesday.
The French government not only wants to avoid an escalation in the Middle East. It also wants to prevent the conflict from being imported into France. Fifty anti-Semitic acts have reportedly been committed since the weekend.
Meanwhile, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the US and European nations to take a balanced approach to the conflict, accusing Israel of waging "not a war but a massacre."
"Its disproportionate attacks on Gaza, without any moral basis, could put Israel in an unexpected and undesirable position in the eyes of global public opinion," Erdogan said.