More than 500 leading figures from the French film and cultural industries have signed a letter calling for a silent march on Sunday (November 19) in Paris in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Marion Cotillard, Melanie Laurent, Isabelle Adjani, Nathalie Baye, Jacques Audiard, Christophe Honore and Michel Hazanavicius are among the actors, filmmakers, agents and producers who have called for “a silent march of solidarity, humanism and peace”. The initiative was organised by Le Collectif Une Autre Voix (Another Voice) and spearheaded by the group’s President Lubna Azabal, a Belgian actress known for 2022 Cannes Un Certain Regard feature The Blue Caftan.
The event will proceed in silence with white flags and white handkerchiefs and a single, long white banner to lead the procession, urging “no political demands, no slogans.” Many of the signatories are expected to attend the march, according to the organisers.
The letter reads: “Today the world is dramatically divided. Today our streets are divided. An immense wave of hatred is gradually taking hold (…) To this injunction to choose a side to hate, we urgently need to make another voice heard: that of “union”.” The “voice of union” is described as “proof of the powerful bond that exists in France between Jewish, Muslim, Christian, atheist and agnostic citizens.”
The letter continues: “Since October 7, 2023, horror and suffering have torn Palestinians and Israelis apart in a monstrous equation that has been going on for a long time. This fratricidal war affects us all, and whatever our reasons or affinities on either side of the border, we want it to end immediately so that the two peoples can finally live in peace.”
Other signatories include filmmakers Arnaud Desplechin, Patrice Leconte, Christopher Thompson and Jan Kounen, actors Francois Berleand, Bruno Podalydes, Tomer Sisley Berenice Bejo, Virginie Ledoyen, Olga Kurylenko, Audrey Fleurot, Julie Gayet, Alexandra Lamy, Emmanuelle Devos, and producers like Camille Trumer, Fabrice De la Patellière, Daniel Ziskind and Bruno Nahon.
The silent march is planned to take place on November 19 in Paris between two symbolic locations, the Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) and the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaisme (Museum of Jewish Art and History).
The call to action follows another march in solidarity on Sunday (November 12) against what has been a rising wave of anti-Semitism in France that saw more than 180,000 people gather in the country and 105,000 in Paris. Among them were several leading French film industry figures like Cultural Minister Rima Abdul Malak, Cannes Film Festival president Iris Knobloch, actor-directors Geraldine Nakache, Sandrine Kiberlain, Natalie Portman and Charlotte Gainsbourg, MK2 CEO Nathanael Karmitz, filmmaker Radu Mihaileanu, producer-actress Elsa Zylberstein, TV mogul Arthur Essebag and more.
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