French President Emmanuel Macron will snub a United Nations conference on racism next month because of anti-Semitic statement made at previous editions, his office has announced.
France has joined a growing list of western countries in refusing to attend the Durban anti-racism conference.
"Concerned by a history of anti-Semitic remarks made at the UN conference on racism, known as the Durban conference, the President of the Republic has decided that France will not participate in the follow-up conference to be held this year," the Elysée said in a statement.
The meeting in New York in September is being held to mark the 20th anniversary of the 2001 conference in Durban, South Africa, which resulted in the "Durban Declaration and Program of Action" against racism. It is scheduled to bring together world leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The format has always been controversial and the first edition was marked by deep divisions over the issue of anti-Semitism, colonialism and slavery.
The second Durban conference, in 2009, courted controversy after then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a Holocaust denier, used his presence as a platform to slam Israel as a “cruel and repressive racist regime".
Delegates from several European nations left the hall.
The 2011 edition was then boycotted by 14 countries.
Fighting anti-Semitism
“France will continue to fight against all forces of racism and will be watching to make sure that the Durban follow-up conference is held in accordance with the founding principles of the United Nations,” the French presidency added.
Macron has promised to fight against anti-Semitism in all its forms and last year warned of the unbearable resurgence of anti-Semitism in our Europe.
The government has in recent days expressed concern over anti-Semitic slogans at protests against Covid-19 restrictions.
Other countries not attending this year's conference are Austria, Britain, Germany, Australia, the US, the Netherlands, Hungary, Czech Republic, Canada and Israel.
(with newswires)
