France Télévisions has removed the online replay of an episode of "La Grande Librairie" after actress Adèle Haenel used her appearance on the show to accuse Israel of committing genocide in Palestine.
Haenel, 37, made the comments during Wednesday's edition of the France 5 literary talk show hosted by Augustin Trapenard. She said the state of Israel was committing genocide in Palestine and that France was complicit, urging people not to accept the unacceptable, and calling for sanctions against Israel and the liberation of Palestine.
The remarks spread quickly on social media and drew a wave of criticism, after which France Télévisions withdrew the video from its france.tv streaming service.
Broadcaster cites its charter
Contacted by the magazine Télérama, France Télévisions said Haenel's position could not be balanced by several points of view, which it said its public-service charter, or cahier des charges, requires. The broadcaster said that after analysing the segment, it had taken the video down as a precautionary measure.
France Télévisions management, separately contacted by the AFP news agency, said there was no censorship involved in the decision.
Haenel responds on social media
A few hours after the segment was pulled, Haenel, known for films including "Les Combattants," "120 Battements par minute" and "En liberté!," reacted on her social media accounts.
She said that during her appearance on France 5 she had drawn a link between the silencing and denial surrounding sexual and gender-based violence and the silencing and denial surrounding what she called the genocide in Palestine.
She said it was rather extraordinary that the broadcaster had provided a perfect demonstration of the very point she had been making, that there are certain words and certain realities that everyone knows about but that are supposedly not meant to be said. She added that it was helpful that the broadcaster had made her argument for her, and thanked France Télévisions sarcastically.
Political reactions split
The removal drew condemnation from several figures on the left. Officials from La France Insoumise, Communist Party senator Ian Brossat and Olivier Faure all criticised the decision.
Faure, a candidate in the Socialist Party's primary, wrote on X that the whole point of a "carte blanche" segment was to let a guest speak freely. He asked whether certain viewpoints were now forbidden, and whether Haenel's comments amounted to a criminal offence. In the absence of any justification, he said, the removal was a disgrace.
National Rally MP Julien Odoul took the opposite view, saying Haenel had relayed the propaganda of the Islamist group Hamas without contradiction or nuance.
"La Grande Librairie" is a long-running literary programme on France 5 in which the host, Augustin Trapenard, interviews writers and public figures, often giving guests space to speak at length on subjects of their choosing.
