Jacques Serais / Photo credit: Ludovic MARIN / AFP 10:25 a.m., October 09, 2023

Since the beginning of the Hamas attacks on Saturday morning, Emmanuel Macron has been closely following the events. After talks with the Israeli and Palestinian presidents and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Emmanuel Macron will meet the German chancellor. But one fear persists at the Élysée: Are there French people among the Hamas hostages?

Hamas' attacks on Israel since Saturday morning have shaken up the recomposition of the Middle East. Emmanuel Macron is following the situation very closely, multiplying phone calls throughout the weekend between the Lantern residence and the Élysée Palace.

Visit to Germany

On Saturday and Sunday, he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, asking him to condemn the Hamas attack.

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The situation in Israel, however, is unlikely to change Macron's schedule, as he is still scheduled to fly to Hamburg on Monday afternoon for a Franco-German seminar alongside Scholz. "The situation in Israel will obviously be discussed with the German chancellor," said one of his advisers.

French people among Hamas hostages?

With one point of vigilance in particular: the presence or not of French nationals among the hostages of the Palestinian terrorist movement. "That's the question we're obsessed with," said a source close to the president. "The intelligence services are verifying."

The repercussions in France, with the organization of potential pro-Palestine demonstrations, are also the subject of great attention on the side of the Ministry of the Interior. "We're waiting to see the Israeli response," said another, because that's also what will shape the national political debate.