French MEP accused of removing Israeli flag at European Parliament exhibition

French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan speaks during a session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on October 6, 2026. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN / AFP A hard-left member of the European Parliament faced an investigation on Tuesday, October 6, after the Israeli and European Union flags were allegedly thrown to the floor at a commemoration for the victims of the 2023 Hamas attacks, which set off the war in Gaza. Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian lawmaker from the radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party, said via her team she had removed an Israeli flag to "denounce the ongoing genocide in Gaza." European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said she took the allegations against Hassan "extremely seriously." "A member of this house was filmed apparently damaging an exhibition commemorating the victims of the terrorist attack in Israel on October 7," Metsola said in a statement on the incident. "I would like to underline that we take this extremely seriously, and that all appropriate steps, according to our procedures, are being taken, including the right of the person concerned to be heard," she told lawmakers. "The person concerned was seen allegedly throwing the flag of Israel to the ground, dropped a flagpole and the European Union flag was knocked down. Both flags were left lying on the ground before the member left the scene." Metsola, in her statement, went on to warn: "We cannot have actions that could make people fearful of speaking. We cannot have damage to property. And we cannot have attempts to intimidate rather than to debate. At a time of rising global antisemitism, we owe it to Europe's Jewish community to ensure that when they look to us they see that this is their house too." Read more Subscribers only Three years after October 7: Despite pain, two former Hamas hostages promote message of peace Hassan's staff said, in a statement, that she had explained the events shortly after the controversy. While leaving the exhibition venue, Hassan "removed the Israeli flag from its stand. The European Union flag, attached to the same base, then accidentally fell due to the loss of balance. Neither flag was trampled or damaged," according to the statement sent to AFP. "Our action was part of denouncing the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli government," but was "in no way aimed at the people this event sought to honour, nor at their memory," it added. "It is entirely possible – as we did with our group – to commemorate the victims of October 7 without associating ourselves with the genocidal Israeli state," Hassan told the EU parliament on Tuesday. Read more Subscribers only How hard-left politician Rima Hassan is testing the boundaries between free speech and provocation Last year, Hassan was on a flotilla that attempted to reach Gaza, and was among the activists detained and later deported by Israeli authorities. Hassan's opponents, meanwhile, have criticized her. Conservative French MEP Francois-Xavier Bellamy said that her act was "a form of complicity with those – including within Europe – who seek to re-import the antisemitic hatred that marked the darkest chapters of our continent's history." Centrist French parliament member Nathalie Loiseau said, on X, "Rima Hassan tramples on an Israeli flag at the European Parliament. October 7 is the day after tomorrow. LFI has plumbed the depths of indecency." Partner service Learn French with Gymglish Thanks to a daily lesson, an original story and a personalized correction, in 15 minutes per day. Try for free Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar lambasted Hassan on Tuesday. "Shameful, outrageous, but sadly not surprising. The desecration of the exhibition commemorating the victims of October 7 at the European Parliament by radical-left MEP Rima Hassan says above all how little respect she has for the very institution in which she serves," Sa'ar wrote on X. Read more Subscribers only 'Factory of targets' and 'collateral damage': Israeli soldiers describe Gaza methods Le Monde with AFP