[News] France calls for Albanese’s resignation over remarks on "Israel"

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/france-calls-for-albanese-s-resignation-over-remarks-on--isr>
France calls for Albanese’s resignation over remarks on "Israel"
Al Mayadeen English
February 11, 2026
------------------------------

France has called for the resignation of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca
Albanese over remarks she made about "Israel" during an Al Jazeera forum,
as supporters argue her comments were taken out of context amid ongoing
political pressure against her mandate.

   - [image: Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West
   Bank and Gaza, center, attends a press conference by international
   activists seeking to deliver aid to Gaza on a flotilla, in Tunis, Tunisia,
   Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP)]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/2/11/0946ee89-efce-494d-a190-9a5a41df1031.jpg?width=1000>
   Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza,
   center, attends a press conference by international activists seeking to
   deliver aid to Gaza on a flotilla, in Tunis, Tunisia, Tuesday, Sept. 9,
   2025 (AP)

France has called for the resignation of the UN special rapporteur for the
Palestinian territories following remarks she made about "Israel" during a
forum organized by *Al Jazeera*.

“France unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks made
by Ms Francesca Albanese, which are directed not at the Israeli government,
whose policies may be criticized, but at Israel as a people and as a
nation, which is absolutely unacceptable,” Barrot told French lawmakers.
Remarks at the Al Jazeera forum

Speaking at the forum organized by the Al Jazeera network on Saturday,
Albanese said:

"The fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed,
given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and
financial support is a challenge. The fact that most of the media in the
Western world has been amplifying the pro-apartheid genocidal narrative is
a challenge. And here also lies the opportunity. Because if international
law has been stabbed in the heart, it is also true that never before has
the global community seen the challenges that we all face. We who do not
control large amounts of financial capital, algorithms, and weapons now see
that we, as humanity, have a common enemy, and that freedoms, the respect
of fundamental freedoms, are the last peaceful avenue, the last peaceful
toolbox that we have to regain our freedom."

On Monday, Albanese posted on X:

"My full AJ Forum speech last week: the common enemy of humanity is THE
SYSTEM that has enabled the genocide in Palestine, including the financial
capital that funds it, the algorithms that obscure it, and the weapons that
enable it."
US sanctions and escalating pressure

The controversy in France comes after targeted campaigns against Albanese
from Washington.

On July 9 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions
against Albanese
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-sanctions-on-albanese-shamefully-undermine-justice--amnes>,
accusing her of what he described as “illegitimate and shameful” efforts to
push the International Criminal Court to investigate US and Israeli
officials and entities.

“Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special
Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to
prompt ICC action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and
executives,” Rubio wrote in a post on X. “We will always stand by our
partners in their right to self-defense," he added.

The sanctions followed the release of a report compiled by Albanese
examining corporate and financial links to what she described as an
“economy of genocide” in Gaza.

The report called for corporations to sever business ties with "Israel" and
urged accountability for alleged violations of international law.
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