By Esra Taskin
PARIS (AA) - French lawmaker Farida Amrani on Friday praised Türkiye for assisting in the return of French nationals expelled from Israel after Paris allegedly refused to fund their repatriation.
Amrani said on the US social media platform, X, that nine French nationals who were "illegally detained" in Israel were expelled to Istanbul, where three were later flown to Paris with the help of Turkish authorities and Turkish Airlines.
She accused Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot of refusing to provide support, saying the ministry had issued "a clear directive" not to fund the return of the French nationals.
"France has decided to abandon them," she said, adding that Turkish authorities intervened after three of the nationals were left stranded at the Istanbul Airport.
Amrani expressed gratitude to Turkish lawmakers Bahadir Yenisehirlioglu and Hasan Turan from the Justice and Development (AK) Party, as well as to the consular staff in Tel Aviv and Istanbul, for their efforts.
"Let us hope that France will protect the next citizens of the flotilla 'dumped' somewhere in the world," she added.
Israeli naval forces attacked and seized more than 40 boats last week that were part of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla. Tel Aviv detained over 450 activists who were on board. Most of them have been since been deported. Many told hair-raising stories of abuse at the hands of their Israeli captors.