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PARIS: France on Tuesday slammed as “abject” and “erroneous” an accusation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that President Emmanuel Macron’s move to recognize a Palestinian state was fueling antisemitism in his country.
France “protects and will always protect its Jewish citizens,” Macron’s office said, adding that a letter from Netanyahu containing his allegation “will not go unanswered.”
“This is a time for seriousness and responsibility, not for conflation and manipulation,” the French presidency added.
Last month, Macron said France would formally recognize a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, the first G7 country to do so.
The move drew a swift rebuke from Israel. In a letter sent to Macron, seen by AFP, Netanyahu claimed that antisemitism had “surged” in France following the announcement.
“Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement. It rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas’s refusal to free the hostages, emboldens those who menace French Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets,” Netanyahu wrote in the letter.
France is among at least 145 of the 193 UN members that now recognize or plan to recognize a Palestinian state, according to an AFP tally.
Australia joined the list earlier this month, announcing its intention to recognize a Palestinian state in September.
“Violence against the (French) Jewish community is intolerable,” the French presidency said.
“That is why, beyond criminal convictions, the president has systematically required all his governments since 2017 — and even more so since the terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023 — to show the strongest action against perpetrators of antisemitic acts,” it said.
Macron’s minister for Europe, Benjamin Haddad, separately said in reaction to Netanyahu’s letter that France has “no lessons to learn in the fight against antisemitism.”
The issue “which is poisoning our European societies” must not be “exploited,” Haddad added.
France is home to Europe’s biggest Jewish community.
Reported antisemitic acts in France surged from 436 in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023, before dipping to 1,570 last year, according to the interior ministry.

KIRUNA: How do you move one of Sweden’s most beloved wooden churches down the road? With a little bit of engineering, a lot of prayer — and some Eurovision for good luck.
The Kiruna Church — called Kiruna Kyrka in Swedish — and its belfry are being moved this week along a 5-kilometer route east to a new city center as part of the town’s relocation. It’s happening because the world’s largest underground iron-ore mine is threatening to swallow the town.
This week, thousands of visitors have descended upon Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost town at 200 kilometers above the Arctic Circle. It’s home to roughly 23,000 inhabitants, including members of the Sami Indigenous people, spread over nearly 19,500 square kilometers.
Lena Tjärnberg, the church’s vicar, kicked off the move with a blessing Tuesday morning. The journey is scheduled to end Wednesday afternoon.
The church was a gift from the mining company
In 2001, the Swedish people voted the wooden church the “best building of all time, built before 1950” in a poll connected to the Ministry of Culture. Built on a hill so worshippers could overlook the rest of Kiruna, the Swedish Lutheran church was designed to emulate the Sami style as a gift from LKAB, the state-owned mining company.
This week’s move has turned into a two-day highly choreographed media spectacle, run by LKAB and featuring an appearance by Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf. 
Known for both the Midnight Sun and the Northern Lights, Kiruna and the surrounding area is a major draw year-round for visitors to Swedish Lapland. The region also features the Aurora Sky Station, the Icehotel and Kebnekaise, the Nordic country’s highest mountain.