At the French port of Marseille, dock workers have taken a stand. Three containers have caught their attention; inside metal parts intended for the assembly of cartridges for machine guns, bound for Israel.
Thanks to the comrades at BDS, we were able to get information about the shipments, because everything is covered up.
To give you an idea, the containers carrying those weapons, which are manufactured in Marseille, were registered in Toulouse, as if they were departing from there to deceive the enemy.
And the enemy is us.
And even on the containers, there was no mention of munitions, nothing indicating they were dangerous, which is legally required.
On the contrary, there were neutral labels and markings which made them very hard to find.
Charles Hoareau, CGT Unionist, Pro-Palestine Activist
For these dockers, there is no question of letting the shipment leave.
They refuse to let the port of Fos Marseille become, in their words, an accomplice to war crimes.
I’m a Merchant Navy captain from the port of Marseille.
On behalf of the maritime community, I fully support the action of my fellow dock workers from Fos (Marseille) who blocked containers of weapon parts bound for Israel, an effort supported by comrades in Genoa, and took over to verify that the ship actually left without the munitions, without the incriminated parts.
Emilie, Merchant Navy Captain
The blockade is part of a union and activist initiative supported by several collectives in solidarity with the Palestinian people, a symbolic action, but also a very concrete one.
The Dockers took matters into their own hands.
And not only did they do what is good and just but they will be on the right side of history.
Truly, all my heart goes out to them, really, may they continue.
And I saw that it has spread; Genoa Antwerp. So who’s next?
Alexandre Rupnik, Deputy Mayor, Marseille
This is not the first time dock workers at the port of Fos Marseille have opposed military cargo, and most probably, it won’t be the last.
