Standing tall and silent before the cheering crowd, Francesca Albanese bowed as a chorus of ululations filled the tent and the humid air on Sunday, September 14, the final day of the Fête de L'Humanité, a left-wing festival organized by the communist newspaper L'Humanité just outside of Paris. A 48-year-old legal scholar and, since 2022, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, she has become a prominent voice for the Palestinian cause, an observer of crimes committed by Israel in Gaza and a critic of Western policy on the issue. Such positions have led her detractors to accuse her of activism.

"Your presence shows the Palestinians are not alone!" she began, her French colored with Italian inflections, prompting the first of many rounds of applause that would punctuate her speech – sometimes somber, always passionate and laced with biting irony at the powerful. Accused by opponents of supporting terrorism and antisemitism, and followed by over one million people on social media, Albanese came to share her perspective on what is at stake in Palestine.

You have 87.49% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.