France

Introduction

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Profile

Country/TerritoryFrance

Activity

  • The French government funds numerous Israeli, Palestinian, and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) directly through L’Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem (CGF), and French local authorities, and indirectly through French and foreign aid organizations such as CCFD- Terre Solidaire and Association France Palestine Solidarité.
  • Since 2017, France funds a humanitarian consortium led by Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
  • Many of the NGOs receiving French direct and indirect funds support boycott campaigns against Israel and/or call for the boycott of the State. Such advocacy is illegal under French law. (See NGO Monitor’s report: French Funding to NGOs Involved in Boycott Campaigns and with Alleged Ties to Terror Groups.)
  • In 2019, France endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
  • On January 1, 2022, the French government implemented a law, “Strengthening the respect of the republican values.” The law calls for organizations receiving French governmental funding to respect the laws and values of the French Republic. According to the law, every organization that wishes to receive French government funding must sign a “contract of republican commitment” and “Undertake[] (in its activity, in its internal functioning as in its relations with third parties) not to provoke hatred or violence towards anyone and not to condone such acts…[and be] committed to rejecting all forms of racism and anti-Semitism.” Any group that is found in breach of the contract will be defunded by the French government.
  • In March 2022, France dissolved the PFLP-linked Collectif Palestine Vaincra (CPV) on the grounds that the group “calls to hatred, violence and discrimination.” The primary reasons for the dissolution included CPV’s support of terrorism (support to terror groups and individuals involved or convicted for terror related offenses), which according to the French authorities, “goes hand in hand with a legitimization of the terrorist methods which it endeavors to justify or minimize on the grounds that it is a necessary form of resistance.” In April 2022, the French government suspended the dissolution order and launched an appeal.(See NGO Monitor’s analysis “France dissolves anti-Zionist and PFLP-linked Collectif Palestine Vaincra – Main points of the dissolution decree.”)
    • CPV is a member of Samidoun, an organization that was designated by Israel as a terror group in February 2021 due to its links to the PFLP. According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Samidoun “acts on the PFLP’s behalf abroad” and “plays a leading and significant role in the PFLP’s anti-Israel propaganda efforts, fundraising, and recruiting activists. These activities compliment the armed and violent terrorist struggle that the PFLP engages in against Israel.”

Government Agencies

Agence Française de Développement

  • The Agence Française de Développement (AFD – French Agency for Development) is “a public institution that implements France’s policy in the areas of development and international solidarity.” AFD is “designated as the main operator of French development aid, under the joint authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.”
  • AFD has been active in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza since 1999 and has provided approximately €405 million for dozens of projects and partnerships.
  • A 2017 AFD document stated that “AFD’s intervention must contribute to the consolidation and development of the [Palestinian Territories] PTs, but also ‘do no harm’, i.e. ensure that the projects implemented do not involuntarily exacerbate conflicts or delicate situations that could lead to acts of violence in the mid-or short-term. The factoring in of potentially negative effects of projects is carried out through the institutionalisation, identification, examination and follow-up of projects, broader consideration of the project’s socio-political environment and its potential impact on divides, a possible source of destruction and violence. Because of the extremely inflammable political and ideological environment, support to NGOs must be implemented with extreme caution.” Yet, AFD funds several highly politicized and problematic Palestinian NGOS.

Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)

  • In February 2019, AFD approved a €232,000 (out of a total budget of €650,000) grant to a French organization for an agriculture project in Area C of the West Bank. The French NGO partners with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a Palestinian NGO linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization, designated as such by the EU, the US, Canada, and Israel.
  • UAWC is identified by the Palestinian Fatah organization as a PFLP “affiliate,” and by a USAID-engaged audit as the “agricultural arm” of the PFLP.
  • On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared UAWC a “terror organization” because it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.”
  • Several UAWC board and staff members have reported ties to the terrorist group. For more information, read NGO Monitor’s report “Union of Agricultural Work Committees’ Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
  • Samer Arbid, UAWC’s accountant from 2016 until his arrest in 2019, was indicted on 21 counts in Israeli military court. Arbid is currently on trial for commanding a PFLP terror cell that carried out the August 2019 bombing attack, murdering 17-year old Rina Shnerb, and injuring her father and brother. According to the indictment against him (on file), Arbid prepared and detonated the explosive device.

Al-Haq

Ma’an Development Center

Culture and Free Thought Association

NGO Development Center (NDC)

  • In May 2020, AFD authorized an €8 million grant to the NGO Development Center(NDC) to manage a project titled “Action for East Jerusalem’s Identity and Resilience (AJIR).” Implementing partners include PalVision, Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Palestine, and Al-Quds University.
  • NDC is highly politicized, promoting discriminatory BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns and rejecting normalization with Israel.
  • NDC “facilitated” and funded the 2008 “Palestinian NGO Code of Conduct,” which demands that Palestinian groups reject “any normalization activities with the occupier, neither at the political-security nor the cultural or developmental levels.”
  • In 2013, NDC published “A Strategic Framework to Strengthen the Palestinian NGO Sector” (2013-2017) document funded by AFD that outlines “strategic objectives” of Palestinian NGOs and includes as “Programs/Projects/Activities”: “BDS Campaign[s]”; “Campaign[s] for Academic and Cultural Boycott”; “Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign[s]”; “Anti-normalization Campaign[s].”

AFD Funding to French NGOs

In addition to funding Palestinian NGOs, AFD provides funding to politicized anti-Israel French NGOs for projects in France within the frameworks of “development and international solidarity education initiatives” and “structuring French civil society.”

Consulate General of France in Jerusalem

  • The Consulate General of France in Jerusalem (CGF) has not published details about its funding to NGOs since 2016, reflecting a lack of transparency and accountability.
  • CGF reports that it supports local NGOs via “the Innovative Projects of Civil Societies and Coalitions of Actors program (PISCCA)” and the funding of “micro-projects that contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of Palestinian civil society.”
  • In 2021, Hamoked received NIS 164,840 from the Consulate in Jerusalem for the “Protection of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem.”
    • Hamoked is an Israeli NGO that regularly petitions the High Court of Justice and makes inaccurate and inflammatory allegations of Israeli “apartheid,” “deportations,” “torture,” and “forcible transfers.”
  • In 2020, Yesh Din received NIS 193,050 from the Consulate in Jerusalem.
    • Yesh Din is central to the allegations that Israeli investigative and court systems are unable or unwilling to investigate allegations of wrongdoing and is part of a wider “lawfare” strategy of pressing “war crimes” cases against Israeli officials in foreign courts and in the International Criminal Court (ICC). These campaigns use faulty information and skewed statistics to promote their political claims.
  • In 2017, B’Tselem reported receiving NIS 124,008 from the Consulate in Jerusalem. B’Tselem actively pursues its political agenda in the Israeli courts and the Knesset.
  • In 2018, Ir Amim received NIS 100,740 from the Consulate in Jerusalem.
    • Ir Amim’s activities consistently promote a one-sided Palestinian narrative, accusing Israel of the “Judaization” of Jerusalem, and alleging without evidence that the security barrier’s supposedly “demographic rationale therefore outweighs its security rationale.”

Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE)

  • The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) has not published details about its funding since 2016, displaying a lack of transparency and accountability.
  • In 2020, France granted €1.2 million to Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) for its flagship program, “Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA).”
    • NRC supports politicized “Litigation of public interest cases …through Israeli courts and international mechanisms.” Previously, NRC funded over 4,000 cases and legal interventions in Israeli forums.
    • A lawyer affiliated with the NRC program stated that the objective of these cases are an attempt to “try every possible legal measure to disrupt the Israeli judicial system… as many cases as possible are registered and that as many cases as possible are appealed to increase the workload of the courts and the Supreme Court to such an extent that there will be a blockage” (emphasis added).

National Commission for Decentralized Cooperation

  • Under the framework of the “National Commission for Decentralized Cooperation,” MEAE co-funds several projects with French local authorities.
  • In 2019-2022, MEAE and French local authorities are granting €394,928 (€204,000 by MEAE; the rest by French municipalities and departmental councils) for a youth program in East Jerusalem that involved a convicted PFLP member. The program partners with the Palestinian NGO Al Bustan, which publishes imagery showing children engaging in mock executions, videos glorifying violence, supporting members of terrorist groups, and taking children to visit families of Palestinian prisoners. For more information, see NGO Monitor’s report: “French Government Supports Youth Project Involving Convicted PFLP member – Update.”

Humanitarian Consortium

Commissioner General for Territorial Equality

  • In 2016, the office of the Commissioner General for Territorial Equality (CGET), a branch of the French government, granted €18,000 to the pro-BDS and anti-Zionist Union Juive Française pour la Paix (UJFP) for the project “a Jewish word against racism: production of tools-public meetings.” Part of the project was producing video clips that compare Zionism to Nazism and alleged that Zionism is antisemitic.

French Local Governments

  • In 2013-2017, the Council of Île de France Region granted €146,000 to the Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine (PFP).
    • In a 2019 correspondence between the Council of Île de France Region and NGO Monitor, the French local authority claimed it has not provided funding to PFP since 2015. In its response, the Council of Île de France Region  referred to a 2016 voted decision that stipulates that are “excluded from funding organizations calling for a boycott of the State of Israel, especially those involved in the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as these appeals constitute a criminal offense (Court of Cassation, October 20, 2015)” (emphasis added). The local authority further claimed that the PFP funding in 2016 and 2017 was most likely from previous commitments.

Direct French Funding to Israeli NGOs Based on Information Submitted to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits (Amounts in NIS) 

NGODonor202020192018201720162015
Breaking the SilenceConsulate General of France in Jerusalem 63,559
B’TselemConsulate General of France in Jerusalem 124,008130,219
Ir AmimConsulate General of France in Jerusalem 100,740
Terrestrial JerusalemMFA- France167,364
Yesh DinConsulate General of France in Jerusalem 193,050114,557

Indirect Funding

Funding via UN Frameworks

Funding to UN-OCHA

Funding to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

  • In February 2020, AFD and UNICEF signed a €10.9 million partnership to “to strengthen maternal and neonatal healthcare for vulnerable women, newborn babies and young children in the Gaza Strip, State of Palestine.”
    • According to the project press release, “this new funding will build upon a previous joint project, signed in 2018, between the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, AFD, and UNICEF, which aimed to improve the access of lactating women and children to essential and lifesaving maternal and child health care, nutrition, and developmental services delivered at maternal facilities, neonatal hospitals, and primary healthcare clinics in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.”
    • In 2019, France provided UNICEF with $280,584 for “Strengthen[ing] maternal and neonatal care provision in Khan Younis, Gaza.” The project lists “members of the Health and Nutrition cluster – NGOs and UN” as implementing partners of the project.

Funding to United Nations Mine Action Service

Funding to the Food & Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme

Funding to World Health Organization (WHO)

  • In 2020, France pledged $1.1 million to WHO for its “COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan,” which targets several regions, including Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
    • As part of their response to COVID-19, WHO and UN-OCHA are partnering and channeling funds to numerous organizations that have ties to terror groups and are active in delegitimization campaigns against Israel. Many projects funded as part of the COVID-19 plan are not related to emergency life-saving measures needed to combat the spread of COVID-19, but instead are part of regular NGO fundraising activity.

CCFD-Terre Solidaire

Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)

Indirect Funding to Israeli NGOs (Amounts in NIS)

According to information provided to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits.

NGODonor202120202019201820172016
Breaking the SilenceCCFD-Terre Solidaire42,771387,359387,122
ZochrotCCFD-Terre Solidaire163,557149,375
PHR-ICaritas (Secours Catholique)212,000229,000133,000
Public Committee Against Torture in IsraelFIDH43,77444,864
Social TVCCFD-Terre Solidaire60,06038,46970,886
Alternative Information CenterCCFD-Terre Solidaire56,376
Sadaka-ReutCCFD-Terre Solidaire41,502139,670177,190
Emek ShavehCCFD-Terre Solidaire58,07168,864338,53964,004
Who ProfitsCCFD-Terre Solidaire79,89440,017
GishaAction Against Hunger22,060183,584201,063
BaladnaCCFD- Terre Solidaire1033,890

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