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France’s Channel 5 public television station has removed from its website a replay of a recent episode in which French actress and activist Adèle Haenel accused Israel of “committing genocide in Palestine.”
Haenel made the assertion during a Sept. 9 appearance on La Grande Librairie, a cultural program hosted by Augustin Trapenard. She also said France was “complicit” in Israel’s alleged crimes.
Following the broadcast, Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Executive Director of European Affairs Shannon Seban submitted a formal complaint to Arcom, France’s independent audiovisual and digital communications regulator.
In her complaint, Seban acknowledged that freedom of expression allowed for legitimate criticism of Israel, but she expressed concern such a “grave claim was aired on a public service channel without counterargument, without contextualization, and without any attempt by the host to provide perspective.”
“The classification of ‘genocide’ is one of the most serious in international law and remains at the heart of a major legal and political debate,” Seban noted. “Presenting it as an established fact — without acknowledging its controversial nature or allowing for a counterviewpoint — raises serious questions, in my view, regarding the standards of honesty, rigor, and balanced coverage of controversial issues required of public service broadcasting.”
“The segment is all the more concerning given the sharp rise in antisemitism in France and Europe since October 7, 2023,” she added. “The repeated airing of extreme accusations against Israel — when presented without nuance or counterargument — fosters a climate of delegitimization and hostility that can fuel antisemitism and its manifestations.”
“I therefore request that Arcom examine this segment and the circumstances of its broadcast,” Seban wrote.
🚨 Je saisis aujourd’hui l’@Arcom_fr après les propos inacceptables tenus hier soir par Adèle Haenel dans l’émission @GrandeLibrairie sur @FranceTV avec @ATrapenard : « L’État d’Israël commet un génocide en Palestine et la France est complice. »
Une accusation d’une extrême… pic.twitter.com/aHuGdA4Ils
— Shannon Seban (@ShannonSeban) September 10, 2026
