PARIS — Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the French political party La France Insoumise (LFI), made comments regarding the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) on June 18, 2026. These statements drew responses from government officials and Jewish community leaders. Mélenchon stated: "The CRIF, well, it's basically some far-right machine where every year all the ministers line up to go eat there. They pay 800 euros to go eat there, but taxes reimburse 60 percent of it, so it works out fine. So they all go there, and they follow orders."

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau addressed Mélenchon's statements, saying: "When Jean-Luc Mélenchon suggests that the government is 'taking orders' from CRIF, he is not merely engaging in political controversy: he is reviving an antisemitic trope based on the fantasy of secret Jewish influence over those in power. These insinuations, which fuel conspiracy thinking, are unworthy of a political leader. They must be called out for what they are."

Yonathan Arfi, president of CRIF, commented on the situation. He said that "at LFI, the antisemitic fantasy machine is running at full throttle." Arfi referenced Mélenchon's suggestion regarding the Paris police prefect, stating: "According to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the Paris police prefect does not make his decisions based on the laws and the interests of the French people but based on... a tweet from the Crif." Arfi described the idea that Jews control positions of power as "one of the most worn-out antisemitic prejudices."

Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, director of American Jewish Committee Europe, also provided a statement. She said that designating a Jewish organization as a hidden power commanding the state is "antisemitism in its most blatant form: conspiracy, hidden strings, shadow." Rodan-Benzaquen characterized LFI as "a passionately antisemitic party."