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Sally Rooney, Deborah Levy, Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux, as well as Pulitzer winner Viet Thanh Nguyen form part of a group of twenty writers calling upon France's leader Emmanuel Macron to resume a critical evacuation initiative for Gazan authors, scholars and creatives in Gaza.

Initiative Halt Over Alleged Remarks

An emergency support scheme for writers and artists facing crises, as well as a academic rescue effort, were suddenly halted by the authorities in France in early August following a Gazan scholar’s reportedly hateful social media posts—an action that the letter-writing authors described as amounted to a “group penalty”.

“In our capacity as authors, we strongly encourage you to restore this lifeline as soon as possible, and to call on global leaders to establish comparable initiatives”, says the appeal, delivered to the Élysée Palace recently.

Notable Signatories

Further signatories comprise Nobel winners Abdulrazak Gurnah and JMG Le Clézio, as well as Anne Enright, Leïla Slimani, Madeleine Thien, Édouard Louis, Isabella Hammad, Didier Eribon, Naomi Klein, Max Porter, Alain Damasio, Mathias Énard, Kapka Kassabova, Karim Kattan and Rashid Khalidi.

Background of the Programme

This assistance effort was established by the national authorities and the prestigious academic institution in 2017 to support foreign researchers, scientists, intellectuals and artists stranded in dangerous conditions. It has since been used special residency permits and practical support for people from Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and other countries.

Assistance to Palestinians

Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, a total of 31 Palestinian artists, authors and academics along with relatives have been sheltered in France through Pause and France’s student evacuation programme.

Official Reaction

Yet, on August 1st, foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that “no evacuation of any kind” would proceed while authorities were investigating allegedly antisemitic statements posted by a woman scholar who had arrived in France from Gaza during summer and was scheduled to begin classes at Sciences Po Lille University in the autumn.

“The halting of evacuation programmes on the basis of one case involving offensive online content is a form of collective punishment when all signatories to the Genocide Conventions should be doing their utmost to save Palestinians from destruction and must avoid involvement in crimes against humanity”, the appeal addressed to Macron states.