France will suspend its programme to receive Palestinians from the war-battered Gaza pending the outcome of an investigation into a student who allegedly shared an antisemitic post while studying in the country, the French foreign minister said on Friday.
The move comes after officials said the female student from Gaza will have to leave France after the Sciences Po university in the northern city of Lille revoked her accreditation over the online posts.
"No evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn conclusions from this investigation," Jean-Noel Barrot told Franceinfo radio.
All Gazans who have entered France will have to undergo a second screening, he added.
France has assisted more than 500 people with leaving the war-battered Gaza Strip since the outbreak of Israel's military onslaught on the Palestinian territory, including wounded children, journalists, students and artists.
Lille's chief prosecutor told AFP on Thursday a probe had been opened against the student for allegedly trying to "justify terrorism" and "justify a crime against humanity".
Screenshots of posts the student allegedly shared in September - published by pro-Israel accounts on X - include an image of Adolf Hitler and words appearing to call for "the death of Jews".
The account attributed to the student has been taken offline, after French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau demanded it be closed down.
A French diplomatic source said the student arrived in France on 11 July on a scholarship based on academic excellence and after "security checks".
AFP was not immediately able to reach the student for comment. The news agency is not identifying her at this stage of the investigation.
"She must leave the country", the foreign minister confirmed, adding that discussions were ongoing to determine her destination.
France, amid its evacuation programme for those from Gaza, granted refugee status to a mother and son from the enclave in July, in a landmark ruling.
The two were granted the status on grounds they were at risk of Israeli persecution should they remain in the territory, where more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Additionally, France said it will move to recognise the State of Palestine in September, amid the ongoing starvation campaign sweeping the territory, President Emmanuel Macron said last week.
In his statement, Macron stressed the "the urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and rescue the civilian population".
At least 60,332 Palestinians have been killed since the outbreak of the Gaza war on 7 October 2023, in acts deemed as genocidal by NGOs, global leaders and experts. Starvation in the Gaza Strip has also exacerbated suffering in the Palestinian enclave, with dozens dying every day from hunger and malnutrition.