An activist climbs the mast of a boat displaying a Palestinian flag in l'Estaque, part of Marseille's harbour, southern France. AFP
The vessels, mostly small sailboats, departed to applause from around 1,000 supporters gathered at the docks, chanting “Gaza, Marseille is with you”, according to AFP reporters.
The Marseille boats form part of the Thousand Madleens to Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) initiatives, which are collaborating with the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), and the Freedom and Sumud Flotilla (FSF) to organize this attempt at breaking the Israeli siege on the strip.
The boats are expected to join the GSF, as other boats are due to depart from Barcelona on 12 April before heading towards Gaza around 20 April, organizers said.
A week-long stopover is planned in southern Italy for "non-violence training."
"The goal is to give Palestine more visibility. We're not talking about it much right now, because of the international context," Manon, a crew member who declined to give her full name, told AFP.
The FFC is a network of civil society groups that has coordinated similar missions since 2010. The group says its voyages are peaceful and intended to draw attention to the blockade of Gaza by carrying symbolic aid, with activists, journalists, and volunteers from several countries.
Previous attempts have been intercepted by Israeli occupation forces, with activists and volunteers illegally detained, physically or psychologically abused, and deported.
In late 2025, a flotilla of about 50 boats, including activists such as Greta Thunberg and Thiago Avila, was boarded by the Israeli navy, with participants detained and later expelled, per Amnesty International.
In January, the FFC called for an independent international investigation into serious sexual crimes committed by Israeli police and prison officials against flotilla volunteers, demanding accountability for those responsible.
The coalition said that documented information showed some volunteers were subjected to sexual violations, including rape, after Israel’s military attacked flotilla vessels, seized them, and detained hundreds of civilians from international waters.
It said the first public disclosure came on 21 December, when German journalist Anna Liedtke, who was aboard the Conscience ship, spoke at an international conference in solidarity with political prisoners and said she was raped after resisting a forced strip search carried out by Israeli female officers while she was detained.
The Conscience was one of the vessels that sailed toward Gaza in early October, carrying dozens of journalists and international doctors, before it was seized, and those on board were detained.
Moreover, Italian journalist Vincenzo Fullone, who was also aboard the Conscience, and Australian activist Surya McEwen reported similar assaults while in detention.
Claudine Lioustik, a member of the French-Palestinian Solidarity Association (AFPS), said during a press conference last week that “the message of Gaza aid flotilla is fundamentally political,” describing the move as “an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are suffering from genocide and blockade.”
She added that the initiative aims to “mobilize international public opinion and push governments to assume their responsibilities regarding what is happening in Gaza.”
Despite the symbolic nature of such actions, observers say they reflect growing international grassroots solidarity with the Palestinian cause and underscore the persistence of cross-border civil initiatives, even as their chances of success remain tied to political and security dynamics in the region.
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