12-08-2025
France halts renewing work visas to El Al security personnel deployed to Paris
According to the report, the decision was made by French authorities due to the ongoing war in Gaza and tensions between Israel and France.
French authorities have halted renewing work visas for El Al security personnel employed in Paris as ITAN staff (Israeli citizens working in diplomatic missions), Ynet reported on Monday.
According to the report, the decision was made by French authorities due to the ongoing war in Gaza and tensions between Israel and France.
Ynet reported that the work visas granted to Israeli staff gave them the ability to legally live and work in France, but halting the visas changes their status, and are now considered working and residing in the country illegally.
Many workers were forced to obtain diplomatic visas through the Israeli embassy, which only gives them temporary status.
American Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee responded to the reported development on social media, writing, "Say it ain't so, France. Say it ain't so! What happened to France?"
An El Al security guard in Paris told Ynet, "In the past six months, none of the employees whose work visas expired have received renewals."
El Al employee says 'this has never happened before'
'This has never happened before, and no one has been granted new approvals. It seems they are trying to end the employment of El Al security personnel in France," the security guard added.
According to Ynet, El Al's management is referring El Al personnel to the Foreign Ministry, but many have been unable to obtain visas and have since returned to Israel.
Israel's Foreign Ministry told Ynet that "the matter is being handled by the embassy in coordination with the French Foreign Ministry."
Last week, El Al offices in Paris, France, were vandalized in what the company called a 'harsh anti-Israel incident,' with the doors and walls of the building being sprayed with signs saying: 'El Al genocide airline.'
The Israeli company decided to evacuate all its personnel from the French capital after the incident, with another foreign company providing services to customers at the terminal.
"The severe incident was discovered this morning and occurred while the building was empty, and there was no danger to the company's employees," the airline said in a statement. "El Al views the incident seriously and is working on handling the matter with the authorities, following the guidelines of the competent authorities in France and Israel. El Al proudly flies the Israeli flag on the tails of its planes and condemns all forms of violence, especially antisemitic violence."
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