Former French president says Palestinian deaths don't deserve the same tribute as Israeli deaths

France organised a national tribute for the French victims of 7 October with the sitting French President Emmanuel Macron presiding over the ceremony, alongside all members of the government.

The former French president, Francois Hollande, was asked by a journalist if there isn't a double standard and whether French victims in Gaza don't also deserve a similar tribute. 

"It cannot be the same tribute," said Hollande. "A life is a life and one life is equivalent to another, but there are victims of terrorism and victims of war. Being a victim of terrorism means being attacked as a French person or as a defender of a way of life. A collateral victim, you are in a war [...], it's not of the same nature," he added.