Emmanuel Macron responds to Zaho de Sagazan who questions him about Gaza: "Your message is a lucid cry"

Singer Zaho de Sagazan published a letter to Emmanuel Macron on Instagram on Saturday, July 26, in which she calls out the French president for his inaction in the ongoing conflict in Gaza and asks him to stop using her works to fuel his communication. In a response published on social media, Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that he was "optimistic" that France would be able to "very quickly resume" its humanitarian actions in Gaza.

In her text, the singer, who won an award at the Victoires de la Musique in the best artist category , asks Emmanuel Macron not to use "the words of artists" if he does not act "for the lives they defend" , asks not to "decorate [his] communication with [his] songs if, on the other hand, [he] allows a massacre to take place" and declares: "We are not here to embellish the action."

The artist thus reproaches the French president for having "used several times" her piece La Symphonie des éclairs in his "communications" , notably on social networks . "But while you celebrate "light" , she writes, " sensitivity, compassion, under the clouds, a few kilometers from our home, children are living in hell."

A few paragraphs earlier, Zaho de Sagazan spoke of a Palestinian people "bombed, starved, humiliated by the Israeli government, now led by a far-right coalition." "A society is being erased, before the eyes of the world," she writes, while "this world looks the other way. Or worse: it justifies, relativizes, temporizes."

For her, "recognizing the Palestinian state," as Emmanuel Macron announced on July 24 , "is a necessary symbolic gesture, but it is not enough." In this publication, liked more than 60,000 times in twelve hours, she asks him for "strong and immediate action": "Demand a total ceasefire, end military cooperation, ensure that humanitarian aid, blocked for weeks by Israel, can finally pass, sanction violations of international law, support investigations into war crimes." "It's about demanding actions, not words," concludes the 25-year-old artist. "It's about finding our hearts again. Our lucidity. And our humanity."

"I refuse to allow the pain to be covered by silence," the head of state replied, affirming that "France provides no military aid, either direct or indirect, to the operations carried out by the Israeli army in Gaza . " "I share your demand: the situation is getting worse, what we are doing collectively is not enough," he wrote again, assuring him that he would "not look the other way."

"Following my discussions with our partners, I am optimistic that we will be able to resume our humanitarian actions very quickly to meet the most urgent needs of civilians," he also said. "We demand that violations of international law be punished. Without ambiguity," Emmanuel Macron also stated.