Gaza Campaigner Held in France, Awaits Deportation Amid Speaking Tour
Palestinian activist Mariam Abudaqa, who arrived in France for a speaking tour in September, was taken into custody on Wednesday night in Paris after the Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest administrative court, approved her deportation. The ruling cited concerns that the 72-year-old Abudaqa, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), posed a threat to public order.
Abudaqa, previously placed under house arrest for four days in October, had planned to leave Paris for Egypt on Saturday. She is currently held in a Paris police station. The French government’s crackdown on expressions of solidarity with Palestine intensified following the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. Protests were banned, events canceled, and some pro-Palestine groups were accused of supporting terrorism.
The Conseil d’Etat’s decision, based on Abudaqa’s PFLP membership, claimed she held a “leadership” position. The PFLP, the second-largest faction in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), recognized by the UN and Israel, is blacklisted by the EU.
Abudaqa, an anti-occupation and women’s rights activist, had been invited to speak at the French National Assembly, but her participation was blocked in October. The court’s decision faced criticism from Pierre Stambul, an activist with the Union of French Jews for Peace, who supported Abudaqa’s challenge. He argued she hadn’t held a senior position in the PFLP for over two decades. The move is viewed as a “continuation of the criminalization of the Palestinian population.”
As Israeli strikes on Gaza continue, Abudaqa struggles with sleep and fears checking her phone for more distressing news. She expressed the emotional toll, stating, “Death is much easier than staying here, while my heart aches for them. Or having to receive news every day of one of them dying.”
