Despite a request from rebellious deputies, the National Assembly did not observe a minute of silence in tribute to the two French people who died in Lebanon last weekend. The President of the National Assembly clarified the situation.
Before Michel Barnier’s general policy declaration, this Tuesday, October 1, the National Assembly observed a minute of silence in tribute to Philippine,found dead last Saturday September 21 in the Bois de Boulogne, in the Paris region. As a reminder, the main suspect, Taha O., a 22-year-old Moroccan national, had already been convicted of rape in 2021 and had been subject to an OQTF (obligation to leave French territory) since his release.
Mathilde Panot (LFI) offended by this decision of the President of the National Assembly
On the other hand, the parliamentarians did not observe a minute of silence for the two French people killed in the bombings in Lebanon last weekend, which was what La France Insoumise (LFI) wanted. “Macronie is beneath everything”, launched the boss of the rebellious deputies Mathilde Panot on X on this subject. “We said that we were in favor of this tribute to Philippine”, demanding “that in addition there be a tribute to the 103 women who have already died of femicide this year”, she explained during a conference press conference, before Michel Barnier’s general policy speech.
In reality, to organize a tribute like a minute of silence in the lower house, a precise and clear procedure prevails. A group must make the request – which was the case with LFI – but all the groups must agree and express this agreement at the conference of presidents. As the proposal for a minute of silence for the French victims in Lebanon was not unanimous, it could not be respected in the hemicycle on Tuesday. “This cannot explain why there is no tribute for our two compatriots who died in Lebanon,” insisted Mathilde Panot, quite annoyed by the situation.
Scandal: the President of the National Assembly refuses to allow a minute of silence to be held in tribute to the two French people who died in Lebanon in the bombings of the Israeli army.
The macronie beneath it all.
— Mathilde Panot (@MathildePanot) October 1, 2024
The President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, made a point of putting out any fire this Tuesday, to justify her choice not to respect a minute of silence in tribute to the tricolors who died in Lebanon: “There was no unanimously, only the New Popular Front agreed, so it was decided not to follow through,” she explained on BFMTV. As a reminder, La France insoumise had already suffered similar disillusionment in November 2023. The group had requested respect for a minute of silence in tribute to the 102 UN collaborators who died in Gaza. A request refused by the presidents of the other parliamentary groups.