France Cracks Down on Pro-Palestinian Speech, Epstein Probe Widens

The clearest thread of the day is the tightening of state action against pro-Palestinian speech inside France. The Nanterre prefecture has summoned Palestinian-Egyptian activist Ramy Shaath — released from Egyptian arbitrary detention in January 2022 after Emmanuel Macron's intervention — to a 21 May deportation committee, citing his role in protests calling for "an immediate ceasefire" and his statements describing "Israel's criminal occupation of Gaza" as evidence he poses a "serious threat to public order". His lawyer Damia Taharraoui argues he cannot be returned to Egypt, where he no longer holds citizenship, or to the Palestinian territories during the war; supporters have launched a #FreeRamyShaath2 campaign and authorities are reportedly weighing house arrest, passport confiscation and daily reporting if the deportation effort fails. The case lands as a parliamentary bill introduced last month would penalise specific forms of criticism of Israel and expand terrorism-related offences to "implicit" provocation, on top of warnings from teachers and unions that pro-Palestinian demonstrations, public speeches and building occupations are increasingly being criminalised.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced Sunday that around ten new alleged victims have come forward in the French investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's network, opened in January after the US Justice Department's latest document release. The probe is examining whether French nationals were involved in the trafficking and whether Epstein-linked sites in France hosted offences. Beccuau confirmed prosecutors are still receiving testimony and assessing the scope of any French-jurisdiction case, with cooperation continuing with US counterparts.

The Cannes Film Festival became the venue for the next chapter of the Vincent Bolloré culture war. Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada said Sunday that the group will no longer work with the roughly 600 film-industry professionals who signed a petition against the right-wing billionaire owner — including, by signatories' accounts, directors, screenwriters, technicians and actors. Saada framed the petition as an "injustice" against Canal+ staff. The standoff sits alongside the broader Bolloré-era reorganisation of CNews, Europe 1 and the Hachette publishing group, which left and centrist groups have flagged as a concentration-of-media debate the Macron government has so far declined to address legislatively.

Together the three stories give the day a single recognisable French texture: a state apparatus actively restricting political speech and movement when it touches Israel-Palestine, a transnational criminal investigation that keeps producing new French entry points, and a media-power dispute that has migrated from television studios to the Cannes carpet.