France calls Israel's barring of French left-wing candidate Melenchon 'demagogic' decision

France has criticized as "demagogic" a decision by Israel to ban French hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon and another leading figure in his France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) party from entering the country.Israel's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it would bar Melenchon and Mathilde Panot, the party's parliamentary group chair, over "the extreme anti-Israel stance of La France Insoumise party and the outrageous statements made by its leaders.""This demagogic decision, coming from a government that has repeatedly violated international law, plays into the hands of those who, like La France Insoumise, thrive on exploiting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X/Twitter.Le gouvernement d'affaires courantes de Benyamin Netanyahou vient d'interdire l'accès à son territoire à des responsables de la France insoumise. Cette décision démagogique, émanant d'un gouvernement qui a multiplié les violations du droit international, fait le jeu de ceux qui, comme La France insoumise, vivent de l'instrumentalisation du conflit israélo-palestinien. La France continuera inlassablement à agir pour la solution à deux États et la coexistence pacifique des peuples israélien et palestinien.— Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) November 12, 2026"France will continue to work tirelessly toward a two-state solution and the peaceful coexistence of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,” he said.The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that both Melenchon and Panot had made statements spreading…