France moves to deport prominent Palestinian-Egyptian activist over criticism of Israel

France moves to deport prominent Palestinian-Egyptian activist over criticism of Israel Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Sun, 05/17/2026 - 15:19 Ramy Shaath was released from arbitrary detention in Egypt in 2022 following lobbying efforts by French President Emmanuel Macron Egyptian-Palestinian political activist Ramy Shaath holds hands with his wife, Celine Lebrun-Shaath, after arriving at Roissy airport outside Paris on 8 January 2022, following more than two years in detention in Egypt (Julien De Rosa/AFP) Off France is moving to deport prominent Egyptian -Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath over his opposition to Israel's genocide in Gaza. Shaath, a political campaigner and human rights defender, was released from arbitrary detention in Egypt in January 2022 following pressure from French President Emmanuel Macron. A key figure in the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, he now faces expulsion from France on the grounds that he poses a “serious threat to public order”. He is due to appear before a deportation committee on 21 May, after which the local prefecture "may immediately issue a deportation order that can be enforced at any time", according to his lawyer, Damia Taharraoui. A notice by the Nanterre prefecture and seen by AFP cited Saath's activism and comments in support of Palestinians as factors in his deportation. Shaath told AFP that he had attended several protests calling for "an immediate ceasefire, an end to the genocide, sanctions, arms embargoes and international action" against Israel. "My stance has never changed since the time France worked to secure my release from Egyptian prisons where I was a political prisoner... but today, it seems they want to silence ...

Original source: Middle East Eye