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French Hard-Left MP Suspended for Waving Palestinian Flag in Parliament

French leftist La France Insoumise (LFI) party member of parliament Sebastien Delogu waves a Palestinian national flag during a session of questions to the government at the National Assembly in Paris on May 28, 2024. (AFP)
French leftist La France Insoumise (LFI) party member of parliament Sebastien Delogu waves a Palestinian national flag during a session of questions to the government at the National Assembly in Paris on May 28, 2024. (AFP)
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French Hard-Left MP Suspended for Waving Palestinian Flag in Parliament

French leftist La France Insoumise (LFI) party member of parliament Sebastien Delogu waves a Palestinian national flag during a session of questions to the government at the National Assembly in Paris on May 28, 2024. (AFP)
French leftist La France Insoumise (LFI) party member of parliament Sebastien Delogu waves a Palestinian national flag during a session of questions to the government at the National Assembly in Paris on May 28, 2024. (AFP)

France's lower house of parliament on Tuesday suspended a deputy from the hard-left Les Insoumis (LFI) party for 15 days for waving a Palestinian flag in the National Assembly, bringing proceedings to a halt for about an hour.

"This is not tolerable," National Assembly President Yael Braun-Pivet said as she suspended the session and excluded deputy Sebastien Delogu whose deputy's pay was also halved for two months.

Delogu waved the flag in support of Palestinians amid a barrage of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

The war has polarized public opinion around the world with France's LFI positioning itself as a defender of the Palestinians.

"I waved the Palestinian flag in the National Assembly ... because as I speak, France sells weapons, sells parts to supply the Israeli army," Delogu told reporters. "There is a genocide going on there."

The incident took place as junior trade minister Franck Riester was answering a question about the situation in Gaza, where Israel's offensive against Hamas has stirred global condemnation for the high civilian toll. 

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White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy

FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
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White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy

FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo

The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination of Adam Boehler to serve as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the White House said on Saturday.
Boehler, who has been working to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, will continue hostage-related work as a so-called "special government employee," a position that would not need Senate confirmation.
"Adam Boehler will continue to serve President Trump as a special government employee focused on hostage negotiations," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
"Adam played a critical role in negotiating the return of Marc Fogel from Russia. He will continue this important work to bring wrongfully detained individuals around the world home."
A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Boehler withdrew his nomination to avoid divesting from his investment company. The move was unrelated to the controversy sparked by his discussions with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"He still has the utmost confidence of President Trump," said the official.
"This gives me the best ability to help Americans held abroad as well as work across agencies to achieve President Trump’s objectives," Boehler told Reuters in a brief statement.
Boehler recently held direct meetings with Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza. The discussions broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups that the US brands as terrorist organizations.
The talks angered some Senate Republicans and some Israeli leaders. According to Axios, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer expressed his displeasure to Boehler in a tense phone call last week.