French Port Workers Block Military Shipment to Israel in Protest Against Gaza War
Union-led action halts 14-ton shipment of machine gun parts bound for Haifa, citing opposition to Israeli "genocide" in Gaza.
Watan-The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) in France announced Thursday that port workers in southern France have prevented the transfer of a 14-ton shipment of military equipment to Israel.
According to the union, the workers refused to participate in “the ongoing genocide committed by the Israeli government.”
The shipment, reportedly destined for the Israeli port of Haifa, consisted of machine gun parts manufactured in Marseille, southern France. The CGT stated that the Israeli military uses these parts against Palestinians.
The union said the container was moved aside and isolated at the Fos-sur-Mer port near Marseille.
French news outlet France Info reported that the French Ministry of Defense responded by claiming Israel is contractually obligated to re-export the equipment, and is not allowed to use the components itself.
Several left-wing French politicians voiced their support for the workers’ action.
Manuel Bompard, coordinator of the leftist La France Insoumise (LFI) party, wrote on X:“Glory to the port workers of Marseille-Fos who refused to load machine gun parts destined for the Israeli army.”
