French left-wing politicians are increasingly losing sight of France in their politics, Shannon Seban, president of the Renaissance Party in Seine-Saint-Denis and city council member for Rosy-sous-Boi, told The Jerusalem Post during her visit to Israel last week.
Seban explained that left-wing parties, particularly La France Insoumise, “have decided to instrumentalize the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to gain voters among the Muslim population,” and in doing so, are ultimately doing that community a disservice.
“Hamas is not the ally of the Palestinians. They are also the enemy of all of the Muslims, because they are not giving a good reputation for Muslims,” Seban said, after accusing the extreme Left of becoming the “spokespersons of Hamas.”
“The only word they have in them is ‘Gaza’ – [there is] no proposal for French people about education, security, health, or the salary at the end of the month,” she accused.
Raised in the multicultural district of Seine-Saint-Denis by Algerian and Moroccan Jewish parents, the 29-year-old politician has built her platform around countering racism, fostering open dialogue, and creating opportunities for youth.
While passionate about Israel and committed to preserving the memory of those killed on October 7, Seban’s primary focus remains on addressing France’s domestic challenges.
While critical of France’s Left, Seban was no gentler toward the right-wing party Rassemblement National, or toward Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli for inviting them in March to a conference on antisemitism.
“I cannot forget that the National Rally was founded by Nazis. I cannot forget that back in June 2024… candidates of the National Rally, of Marine Le Pen and of Jordan Bardella, decided to ask some of their candidates to become members of parliament, to be their candidate… [and those candidates published] official declaration[s] where they were antisemitic,” she condemned.
“How can you say that you have changed? How can you say that your party has changed since your foundation by Nazis, but then in 2024… [you] still have some candidates and some members that had declaration that are openly antisemitic? That’s a problem – so from the far Right and the far Left, this is just opportunism.”
“I’m pretty sure that we do have a solution in the center to fight against antisemitism, because the far Left and far Right will never be the allies and friends of the Jewish people,” she shared.
Speaking specifically about French Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan, who has described both the October 7 massacre and Hamas as “legitimate,” Seban said, “she is elected for France at the European Parliament, have a look at her X account. Every single post is about Palestine, Gaza and Hamas. But what about French people?”
“Of course, it is important to speak about the international situation, but what about French people?” she asked.
Hassan and Seban’s oppositional relationship has drawn wide attention in France, with Seban explaining that local media had begun identifying her as Hassan’s “opponent.”
Despite the extreme reports of antisemitism coming out of France – and the July remarks by Chief Rabbi Moshe Sebbag of the Grande Synagogue of Paris claiming there was no future for Jews in the country – Seban remained optimistic about France’s future.
“The Jewish people do not have to leave France. You have to stay in France; we also have to act in order to help them to feel secure in France,” she said, emphasizing the importance of adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism and promoting Jewish life.
She also stressed the need for trips to Auschwitz and an education system that fosters understanding, punishes antisemitism, and encourages open dialogue.
A few weeks ago at the Université de Lyon, where Seban was once a student, a teacher was forced out of the classroom for being a Zionist, she told the Post, highlighting the urgent need for changes within France’s education system.
Antisemitism in Europe
She added that France today had become “a laboratory in order to see and to understand antisemitism,” but warned that Europe as a whole had become a dangerous place for Jews, with everyday antisemitism “dripping from the top down.”
“It’s becoming fashionable to hate Jews… that’s not normal – but behind that, you have all the political parties that are trying to legitimize this,” she shared, adding that the Israel-Hamas War has simply become a socially acceptable justification for French antisemites to express their opinions.
Seban has been no stranger to antisemitism in France, frequently being told to leave the country, that she is unwelcome, and receiving comments about her “threatening Jewish nose.” In 2023, even before Hamas’s attack, she was placed under police protection due to the threats posed by Jew hatred.
“I know that a lot of Jews have decided to move to Israel. They have decided to escape France, the country where they were born and raised, where they worked, where they built their families, where they built businesses – and now, because of October 7 and the rise of antisemitism,” they have even more reason to leave, she acknowledged.
“Our French Republic and our French institutions, at some point, failed – failed to protect and make Jews feel secure again. And I think there are some people that are responsible for this.”
Seban’s conversation with the Post came just a day after Israel revoked the visas of 27 visiting French politicians. The delegation included National Assembly deputies François Ruffin, Alexis Corbière, and Julie Ozenne from the Ecologist Party, Communist deputy Soumya Bourouaha, and Communist senator Marianne Margate. The French consulate in Jerusalem claimed the trip was organized to promote international cooperation and peace.
While an advocate for dialogue, Seban emphasized that true dialogue meant being willing to engage and hear opinions contrary to one’s own beliefs – something she doubted the intended visitors would be willing to do.
“I don’t think that if they were in Israel, they would change their minds, so in the end, the result is the same,” she commented when asked if she thought Israel’s decision would be productive. “These people are not advocating for peace, they are just advocating against Jews and defending the Muslim community… They don’t care about the conflict. They are just using it to gain voters among the Muslim community. But they are wrong, because the Muslim community is not made up of idiots.”
Asked what Israel could do to build better relations with France, Seban stressed that it would only be possible if both sides were willing to foster ties. Israel’s priority, she said, should be on the 59 hostages remaining in Gaza, not on whether French politicians liked the Jewish state.
“They are not for Jews. They don’t have any empathy for the families of the hostages, and so on. When you look at their official declarations, they do not condemn the October 7 attack,” the Renaissance Party chair said, highlighting that improving ties with France’s Left would be difficult.
Once the crisis is resolved and Israel can shift its focus to the international arena, Seban shared, “I’m pretty convinced that Israel must definitely be more moderate at some point and on some topics in order to gather more people, and they also have to insist on education… I’m pretty convinced that’s the key: education. Yad Vashem, all the commemoration of this, they have to spread it, to share the story of the families of the hostages.”
Seban has been vocal in her support of the hostages and their families, making an effort to learn their individual stories to share on their behalf and help humanize Hamas’s victims. In the hours before speaking to the Post, she visited the devastated Kibbutz Be’eri and the site of the Re’im massacre, guided by an October 7 survivor who lost their mother and two nephews to the invading terrorists.
“I’m pretty convinced that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. This sentence, for me, means a lot, because what I did today… is already a duty of memory,” she explained. “When I’m back in France, and even on my social media, I will share with my community. Look at what happened… Just imagine if it were you. When I’m speaking with the family of some hostages, they tell me: ‘Please share the story – share the story behind the hostages.’”
“When I was at Nova this morning, I could recognize a lot of faces as if they were part of my family, because I saw these faces quite often. I know the story, and this is what will be the most important. Never forget; Never again,” she said.
During her tour of Be’eri, she shared that even a year after the attack, the kibbutz still carried the “smell of death.” Little mementos of civilian life were particularly difficult to see, she recalled. “What shocked me, what particularly shocked me, is that in their houses, you can still see the shoes. You can still see the pepper and the salt in the kitchen,” she said.
Why Hamas is worse than the Nazis
To Seban, Hamas embodies “the same evil and the same ideology” as the Nazis, but it’s more dangerous. The Nazis didn’t have the same reach through social media, and now Hamas is spreading its murderous ideology remotely.
Beyond her empathy for the victims of Hamas’s brutality, the French politician emphasized that France and the wider European continent face the same threat as Israel: the Muslim Brotherhood and all its branches.
“We need to open our eyes and stop turning a blind eye to the devil. And the devil is Islamist terrorism,” she stressed. While attending a conference in the United Arab Emirates some years ago, she learned that the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia had done something that Europe, with the exception of Austria, has failed to do: ban the Muslim Brotherhood.
The terrorist group, although not recognized as such throughout most of Europe, works to instill in Muslims the belief that the Western world hates them and that they are incompatible with it, thus setting the stage for radicalization, she explained.
Fostering a positive relationship between moderate Islam and France is a core belief for Seban, who described the work she does with Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, also known as the Imam of Peace, often while under police protection.
Now back in France, Seban will continue her work fostering ties between Paris’s ethnically rich suburbs, educating the masses on antisemitism and racism, and countering the narratives that lead to all types of extremism – even if she must do so while under guard.
