Acclaimed Novelist Sally Rooney and Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux Join Writers Calling on French President Macron to Reinstate Gaza Writers Programme

Award-winning author Sally Rooney, Esteemed writer Deborah Levy, Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux, as well as Pulitzer recipient Viet Thanh Nguyen are among a group of twenty writers calling upon French president Emmanuel Macron to resume a “lifeline” programme for Palestinian writers, scholars and artists from Gaza.

Programme Suspension Due to Disputed Comments

The Pause programme for authors and creatives facing crises, along with a student evacuation programme, were suddenly halted by the authorities in France at the beginning of August following a Palestinian student’s allegedly antisemitic social media posts—a decision that the letter-writing authors described as constituted a “collective punishment”.

“In our capacity as authors, we strongly encourage you to reinstate this vital program without delay, and to urge global leaders to create similar programmes”, states the letter, delivered to Macron’s office recently.

Prominent Supporters

Additional supporters include Nobel laureates Abdulrazak Gurnah and JMG Le Clézio, along with Anne Enright, Leïla Slimani, Madeleine Thien, Édouard Louis, Isabella Hammad, Didier Eribon, Naomi Klein, Max Porter, Alain Damasio, Mathias Énard, Kapka Kassabova, Karim Kattan and Rashid Khalidi.

Background of the Programme

The Pause programme was set up by the French government in partnership with the prestigious academic institution in 2017 to support international scholars, researchers, intellectuals and cultural figures stranded in dangerous conditions. It has since been used French talent visas and essential aid for people from Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and other countries.

Assistance to Palestinians

Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, a total of 31 Gazan creatives, authors and scholars along with relatives have been granted refuge in France through these evacuation initiatives.

Official Reaction

Yet, on August 1st, foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that “all rescue operations” would continue while officials examined disputed anti-Jewish comments posted by a female student who had arrived in France from Gaza during summer and was scheduled to begin classes at a French institute this fall.

“This suspension of evacuation programmes because of a single incident of a racist social media post is a form of group retribution when all signatories to the international genocide laws should be doing their utmost to save Palestinians from destruction and must avoid involvement in atrocities”, the letter to the president states.