France halts visas for El Al guards in Paris, fuelling diplomatic row
No visa renewals in six months leave Israeli airline security staff facing illegal status or forced to return amid rising tensions
France has stopped renewing work visas for El Al security personnel in Paris, in a move tied to the Gaza conflict and worsening relations with Israel.
The decision, reported by Ynet, affects Israeli citizens employed as ITAN staff – personnel assigned to diplomatic missions. Their visas had allowed them to legally live and work in France.
An El Al guard stationed in Paris told the outlet: “In the past six months, none of the employees whose work visas expired have received renewals. This has never happened before, and no one has been granted new approvals. It seems they are trying to end the employment of El Al security personnel in France.”
Without renewed visas, staff are classed as working and residing illegally. Some have secured temporary diplomatic permits via Israel’s embassy, but others have already been forced to return home.
El Al’s management has directed affected employees to seek assistance from Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which said in a statement: “The matter is being handled by the embassy in coordination with the French Foreign Ministry.”
The French embassy in Israel has not commented.
The freeze follows a spate of incidents in Paris targeting Israeli interests. Last week, vandals daubed “El Al genocide airline” on the company’s offices and splashed the entrance with red paint. El Al subsequently evacuated its staff from the French capital, replacing them with a third-party provider at the airport terminal.
“El Al proudly flies the Israeli flag on the tails of its planes and condemns all forms of violence, especially antisemitic violence,” the airline said in a statement.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee posted on X in response to the reported development: “Say it ain’t so, France. Say it ain’t so! What happened to France?”
The standoff adds to a growing diplomatic rift, as Paris faces pressure from pro-Palestinian activists and criticism from Jerusalem over its stance on the war in Gaza. Last month’s announcement by the French President, Emanuel Macron, to announce the recognition of a Palestinian state in September sparked a chain reaction of Western governments proceeding along similar lines.
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