Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard and Jacques Audiard are among 500 French film professionals who signed an open letter in support of the silent march for peace in Paris this Sunday.
The initiative – created in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict and its continuing resonance around the world – is led by the newly established Une Autre Voix (Another Voice) collective.
“This fratricidal war affects us all and regardless of our reasons and affinity on both sides of the wall, we want it to end and for both nations to finally live in peace,” the letter reads.
“That is why we are organizing a silent, united, humanist and peaceful march, which will begin with a single, long white banner. No political claims or slogans. White flags and white handkerchiefs are welcome.”
Belgian-Moroccan actress Lubna Azabal (Blue Kafta, Tel Aviv on fire) chairs the Une Autre Voix collective, which also includes French actress and director Julie Gayet and screenwriter Baya Kasmi, as well as Lebanese-Canadian playwright Wajdi Mouawad (Fires) among their racks.
Other signatories of the letter are Mona Achache, Sofia Alaoui, Jeanne Balibar, Emmanuelle Bercot, Sami Bouajila, Laure Calamy, François Cluzet, Abdel Raouf Dafri, Grégory Gadebois, Michel Hazanavicious, Tewfik Jallab, Olga Kurylenko, Alexandra Lamy, Fabrice de La Patelliere, Mélanie Laurent, Charlotte le Bon, Virginie Ledoyen, Claude Lelouch, Jalil Lespert, Kad Merad and Elsa Zylberstein, just to name a few.
The march will take place six weeks after the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks on southern Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 people were taken hostage and deported to the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to annihilate Hamas and recover its hostages has killed more than 11,500 people and displaced 70% of the 2.3 million population, according to Hamas-led health authorities.
“Two nations have been taken hostage by a policy that we cannot control, that exceeds our understanding and of which we are powerless witnesses,” we read in the open letter.
Last weekend, two protests sparked by the conflict took place in Paris: the first on Saturday called for a ceasefire in Gaza, the second was directed against anti-Semitism in response to the increase in anti-Semitic acts in France since October 7.
“The huge wave of hatred is gradually receding, and every day anti-Semitic and Islamophobic acts and all kinds of violence appear in our lives. The words “choice” and “clan” are imposed on us: “Choose your clan!” – comments on the open letter.
“But when death comes, we do not weep or rejoice according to where we were born. We are silent, we pray, we cry with our loved ones, we empathize, we are human. With this mandate to choose a hate camp, there is an urgent need to make another voice heard: the voice of unity,” he continued.
The march will start on Sunday at 2 p.m. Central European Time at the Institut du Monde Arabe on the Left Bank in Paris.
Read the open letter and list of signatories Here
