France bans Itamar Ben-Gvir from entry and demands EU sanctions over flotilla detentions

France barred Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, from entering French territory on Saturday, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced on X. "As from today, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory," Barrot wrote, calling Ben-Gvir's "reprehensible actions towards French and European citizens" aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla intolerable. The decision lands three days after a video Ben-Gvir posted from the port of Ashdod -- showing him waving an Israeli flag over kneeling, hand-bound activists and shouting "Welcome to Israel" -- triggered international condemnation.

Barrot also called on the European Union to sanction Ben-Gvir, aligning France with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani's earlier demand. EU-level sanctions require unanimity among the 27 member states; Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka has publicly vowed to block them. Britain, Canada, Australia, Norway and New Zealand had already imposed individual sanctions on Ben-Gvir last year, alongside his cabinet colleague Bezalel Smotrich, citing "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities."

Barrot framed the bar as a defence of citizens rather than endorsement of the flotilla itself. "We cannot tolerate French nationals being threatened, intimidated or brutalised in this way, especially by a public official," he wrote, while adding that France "disapproves" of the flotilla's approach, which he said produced no useful effect and burdened diplomatic and consular services. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Ben-Gvir's conduct was "not in line with Israel's values and norms," and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said the minister had "knowingly caused damage to our state -- and not for the first time." German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul thanked Sa'ar for the rebuke.

The diplomatic move runs in parallel with allegations from the flotilla's organisers and freed participants. The Global Sumud Flotilla said on Telegram on Friday that returning activists had reported at least 15 cases of sexual abuse during detention, including "humiliating strip searches, sexual taunting, groping and pulling of genitals, and multiple accounts of rape," with at least 12 sexual assaults documented on a single vessel converted into a makeshift prison, including anal rape and forcible penetration by a handgun. Israel's prison service called the accusations "false and entirely without factual basis." UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations was "very concerned by these reports."

Of the 36 French citizens on the flotilla, eight returned to Paris on Friday and two remained hospitalised in Turkey, organiser Sabrina Charik told Reuters; some carried broken ribs or fractured vertebrae, and several had filed detailed accusations of sexual violence including rape. Sabrina Azizi described being taken into "a black container where we couldn't see a thing," where she was given an injection and others were beaten. Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani, deported through Athens, said Israeli soldiers "kicked us and punched us and shouted 'Welcome to Israel.'" Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly, told RTE Radio that detainees "got a feeling of what the Jews felt like during the Second World War," accusing Israel of "now acting like a Nazi state." Miriam Azem of the Israeli rights group Adalah said one activist "was forced to strip naked and run while guards were laughing."

More than 50 boats had left Turkey the previous week carrying over 400 participants from 40 countries, attempting to break Israel's Gaza blockade. Israeli naval forces intercepted them in international waters off Cyprus on May 18; some 430 people were detained at Ashdod and deported by Thursday. France, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom summoned Israeli ambassadors over the video; UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called the scenes "totally disgraceful," and Turkey accused Israel of displaying a "violent and barbaric mindset."