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Marseille Dockworkers Refuse to Ship French-Made Arms to Israel

Their action underscores mounting European calls to review arms-export policies in response to the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Overview

  • Dockworkers at Marseille-Fos halted the loading of 14 tonnes of military components bound for Haifa after locating and setting aside the container.
  • The CGT union said workers refused to load machine-gun parts because they did not want to aid what they called an "ongoing genocide" against Gaza’s civilian population.
  • France’s defence ministry cited a contractual clause requiring Israel to re-export the equipment rather than deploy it itself.
  • Prominent left-wing figures in France, including Manuel Bompard and Olivier Faure, publicly praised the dockworkers’ protest as an act of conscience.
  • In Berlin, the government authorised €28 million in arms sales to Israel in the first quarter of 2025, prompting increasing calls within Germany to halt weapons deliveries over humanitarian concerns.