Port workers in the south of France are blocking a shipment of 14 tons of military equipment to Israel, their union said Thursday.
The workers refuse to participate in the “continuous genocide carried out by the Israeli government”, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) union said.
The cargo, destined for the Israeli port of Haifa, allegedly consists of parts for machine guns manufactured by a company in the southern city of Marseille, which, according to the CGT, the Israeli army uses against the Palestinian population.
The union said the container had been located and was in the port of Foz-sur-Mer near Marseille.
The French defense ministry said that Israel is contractually obliged to re-export the military equipment and is not allowed to use the components itself, the French press reports.
Left-wing politicians in France supported labor action.
“Kudos to the dock workers at the port of Marseille Fos who are refusing to load spare parts for the ships that were to be delivered to the Israeli army,” Manuel Bompard, the national coordinator of the left-wing France Inconquered party, tweeted.
Socialist Party leader Olivier Fauré also supported the move. “Humanism is not for sale,” Fauré wrote on Twitter.
At least 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza, according to Hamas-controlled health authorities in the territory.
The war was sparked by a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 hostages were taken.
