Poitiers: How the names of Hamas leaders replaced those of certain streets

The names of certain streets in the city of Poitiers (Vienne) have been replaced by those Hamas leaders, including its founder. The courts were seized for “apology for terrorism”.

The names of some streets in the city center of Poitiers have been covered by those of Palestinian militants… And Hamas leaders, this Thursday, October 24. A discovery taken very seriously by the Vienne prefecture, which has notified the Poitiers public prosecutor for “apology for terrorism”, in application of article 40 of the code of criminal procedure.

This action was relayed on social networks and in particular on X (formerly Twitter) by the Young Communist Movement of France 86 (MJCF). Entitled “The streets of resistance”, it sparked “strong reactions”, according to the prefecture. Among the names appearing on the posters, there appeared in particular that of Ahmed Yassine, founder of Hamas, as specified by the prefect of Vienne sur X. If the young communists of the department recognize a postering action, they affirm on the other hand not to have been aware of this specific case (concerning the name of Ahmed Yassine): “We did not know anything about it at the time of relaying this action”, states the MJCF.

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“Replacing street names with names of Palestinian resistance fighters”

“This collage consisted of replacing street names in the city center of Poitiers with names of Palestinian resistance fighters, notably on the occasion of the national demonstration in Lannemezan for the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah this Saturday, October 26,” indicates the MJCF86 in a press release. The Young Communists of France claim to have “never supported Hamas' atrocities and this action is no exception.”

Among the names stuck on it were Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a “political prisoner imprisoned in France for over forty years, Nayef Hawatmeh, founder of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Yaser Arafat, founder of Fatah and former president of the Palestinian Authority,” we can read in the MJCF press release86. As a reminder, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah was “sentenced in France to life imprisonment” in 1897 for complicity assassination of American and Israeli diplomats.

The decision of the Vienne prefecture to quickly refer the matter to the courts has clearly not been welcomed in the best possible way by the Young Communist Movement of France. The latter believe that “by referring the matter to the public prosecutor,” Barely half an hour after the publication (…) the Vienne prefecture continues its policy of double standards: unwavering support for Israel and constant repression of activists committed to the liberation of Palestinians.