The PNAT opened a preliminary inquiry on 1 July 2026 after two participants in an October 2025 Gaza flotilla filed torture complaints.
MP Marie Mesmeur says she was detained for four days in Israel, deprived of food, water and medical care, and suffered a cracked rib and bruising that required 10 days of temporary incapacity.
A separate inquiry was opened in early June 2026 into torture and war crimes after the Quai d'Orsay reported on the treatment of French nationals from a May 2025 flotilla.
Far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a video of bound, kneeling activists from the May flotilla, triggering an international outcry and a ban on his entry to France and Ireland.
The investigation stems from complaints by two people who were aboard a flotilla attempting to reach Gaza in October 2025. One of them is Marie Mesmeur, a member of parliament for La France Insoumise representing Ille-et-Vilaine. She says she was held on the vessel for nearly 24 hours before being transferred to Israel, where she spent four days in detention.
“I had 10 days of temporary incapacity because of a cracked rib and bruises, haematomas, caused by the actions of the Israeli guards.”
Mesmeur describes being deprived of food, water and medical care during her detention. Her lawyer, Raphaël Kempf, argues that her arrest in international waters and subsequent imprisonment were illegal and has called for an investigating judge to be appointed.
“The crimes suffered by Marie Mesmeur are serious and must not go unpunished. She was arrested on the high seas and taken to Israel where she was imprisoned in a completely illegal manner.”
The PNAT had already opened a preliminary investigation in early June 2026 into torture and war crimes linked to another Gaza flotilla intercepted in May 2025. That probe followed a report from the Quai d'Orsay concerning the treatment of French nationals who were on board.
Israeli far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a video showing activists from that flotilla kneeling with their hands bound, which triggered international condemnation. In late May 2026, both France and Ireland banned Ben Gvir from entering their territory.
The new inquiry, opened on 1 July 2026, is being conducted under the 1984 New York Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. It has been assigned to the Central Office for the Fight against Crimes against Humanity (OCLCH).
“I welcome the opening of this investigation by the PNAT and I hope it will shed full light on the acts committed by the State of Israel, particularly in prison.”
France is not alone in pursuing such cases. According to SudOuest, Italy and Australia have followed the French example and opened their own investigations into the treatment of flotilla participants.
Pollar is free and carries no ads in the text. Its members keep it going.
Support PollarConflicts · Paris
The French national anti-terror prosecutor has opened a torture investigation into the treatment of two people, including MP Marie Mesmeur, aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted by Israel in October 2025.
AI text based on reports by Franceinfo, SudOuest.fr and Le Monde.fr. Published .