Association France Palestine Solidarité

The Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS) is a French non-profit organization founded in May 2001 through the merger of the Association médicale franco-palestinienne (AMFP, created in 1974) and the Association France-Palestine. It is dedicated to defending the rights of the Palestinian people and promoting a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis based on respect for international law. The AFPS works in France to inform the public and encourage dialogue around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It conducts awareness-raising actions, organizes events and solidarity campaigns, and collaborates with other organizations in France and internationally. It is also involved in cooperation projects on the ground in Palestine. The association is an active member of the Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine, which brings together 40 associations, and is part of the Collectif national pour une paix juste et durable entre Palestiniens et Israéliens. At the European level, AFPS is an active member of the European Coordination Committee for Palestine, based in Brussels, which intervenes with European Union bodies. The AFPS has around 5,000 members spread across about a hundred local groups throughout France. Its current president is Anne Tuaillon, who has held the position since 2023. The association publishes a quarterly review, Palestine Solidarité, and maintains a website with news, analyses, and campaign materials. It is known for its advocacy of boycott actions against Israel, which have been legally contested in France. The AFPS has also been involved in legal proceedings, such as opposing the Veolia company's operation of a tramway line connecting Jerusalem and the West Bank, and supporting the Collectif Palestine vaincra in its legal challenge against dissolution. The organization continues to be active in mobilizing public opinion and organizing campaigns, such as the annual Zaytoun olive harvest campaign and calls for an arms embargo on Israel.

The Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS) was founded in May 2001 through the merger of the Association médicale franco-palestinienne (AMFP), created in 1974, and the Association France-Palestine. It inherited the publication of the quarterly review Pour La Palestine (about sixty issues published) as well as the solidarity partnerships established by the AMFP with Palestinian NGOs and Israeli pacifist or human rights associations. The AFPS maintains links with the anarchist bookstore Quilombo, whose premises are located next to its own. In 2008, the AFPS opposed the operation by Veolia of a tramway line connecting Jerusalem and the West Bank, including two settlements. The AFPS was dismissed by the Tribunal de grande instance de Nanterre on 30 May 2011. The AFPS announced it had appealed. It was dismissed on appeal and ordered jointly with the PLO to pay €90,000. The association is active in boycott actions against Israel, the call for which is illegal in Israel and suspected in France of contravening an 1881 law punishing discrimination against persons on grounds of ethnicity, religion, or nation. A ministerial circular of February 2010, still in force, instructs prosecutors to examine calls to boycott Israeli products (whether or not from settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law) by referring to this press law originally designed for the protection of individuals. The AFPS supports the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, sentenced to life imprisonment for complicity in terrorist assassination and detained in France since 1984. In January 2014, the AFPS disassociated itself from Dieudonné, calling him a racist impostor. In 2022, the AFPS intervened legally in support of the Collectif Palestine vaincra in the summary procedure contesting its dissolution by the government before the Council of State. The request, also defended by the Union syndicale Solidaires and the Union juive française pour la paix, was successful and the dissolution was suspended. The request was ultimately rejected on the merits on 20 February 2025 and the dissolution confirmed. The AFPS today brings together nearly 5,000 members spread across about a hundred local groups throughout France. Its presidents have been Bernard Ravenel (2001-2009), Jean-Claude Lefort (2009-2013), Taoufiq Tahani (2013-2017), Bertrand Heilbronn (2017-2023), and Anne Tuaillon (since 2023).

• 2025

  Dissolution of Collectif Palestine vaincra confirmed by Council of State

• 2022

  AFPS intervenes in legal challenge to dissolution of Collectif Palestine vaincra

• 2014

  AFPS disassociates from Dieudonné

• 2011

  AFPS dismissed by Tribunal de grande instance de Nanterre; ordered to pay €90,000 jointly with PLO on appeal

• 2008

  AFPS opposes Veolia's operation of Jerusalem tramway

• 2001

  AFPS founded by merger of AMFP and Association France-Palestine

• 1974

  Association médicale franco-palestinienne (AMFP) founded

Advocacy and solidarity organization for Palestinian rights

1. 1Association France Palestine Solidaritéfrance-palestine.org
2. 2Association France Palestine Solidaritéfr.wikipedia.org
3. 3Association France Palestine solidaritéwikidata.org