French and Kurdish politicians gathered in Paris to celebrate Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, with a high-profile attendance from the French side, which is a show of support against the ongoing international persecution by the Turkish state towards the Kurdish community.
French and Kurdish politicians gathered on Tuesday evening in Paris to celebrate Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, at a reception organised by the French Democratic Kurdish Council (CDK-F) at the Lutetia Hotel.
The event was attended by several high-profile French politicians, including Vice-President of the Senate Pierre Laurent, spokesperson of the Government Party in the National Assembly Sylvain Maillard, and President of the UDI party Jean-Christophe Lagarde, as well as commanders of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) and People’s Protection Units (YPG) from Rojava.
During the reception, YPJ Commander Nesrin Abdullah made a speech calling for an international struggle against regional reactionism. “Newroz means resistance and freedom. Today, this is the reality in Rojava. As Kurds, we are establishing a new life together with the Arab, Armenian, Assyrian-Syriac peoples; an equal and free life,” she said.
YPG Commander Nuri Mahmut also addressed the guests, saluting everyone on Newroz and highlighting the ongoing fight against ISIS and regional reactionism, calling for solidarity.
Agit Polat, who made the opening speech on behalf of CDK-F, stressed the importance of finding a permanent solution to the Kurdish question and urged France to play a strategic role in this regard by supporting the construction of a new Kurdish policy that considers the interests of the Kurdish people as a state. He emphasised that France should lead this effort in the international arena and convince its allies to support this policy.
The reception was also attended by the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) co-chair Ahmet Karamus, KNK Executive Council member Zübeyir Aydar, European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCDK-E) co-chair Yüksel Koç, journalist Ferda Çetin, as well as intellectuals such as Patrice Franceschi, Tristane Banon, Franz-Olivier Giesbert, Gérard Chaliand, Caroline Fourest, and Gilbert Abergel.
The event concluded with a performance by Kurdish artist Diyar Mehruwî.
A member of the French Senate’s Social Affairs Committee and the Women’s Rights Delegation, Laurence Cohen shared a message of solidarity on her Twitter account, saying that “Our Kurdish friends can count on the support and solidarity of French communists in their struggle for freedom and democracy!”
The high-profile attendance from French politics at the Newroz reception in Paris was attributed to the ongoing international persecution by the Turkish state towards the Kurdish community. Last year’s racist attack on the Kurdish community in Paris, which occurred on 24 December 2022, and killed three individuals, has heightened concerns about the safety and security of Kurds living in France. Prior to that, the death of three prominent female Kurdish politicians in Paris in 2013, including Sakine Cansız, a co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), also raised concerns about the safety of the community.