Kurdish residents of Lorient, France met with Danielle Simonnet, New Popular Front MP for Paris, and Damien Girard, NFP-Ecologist MP for Morbihan 5th constituency, to hear the impressions of their recent solidarity visit to Rojava. The delegation consisted of 6 French leftist MPs, imcluding 3 women and 3 men.

Speaking to ANF after the meeting, Danielle Simonnet shared her impressions of their visit to Rojava where they had talks for three and a half days.

Simonnet said that it was a difficult journey for them to reach Rojava, which took two days. The delegation was welcomed by YPG (People’s Defense Units), YPJ (Women’s Defense Units) representatives and other officials in Rojava and had a direct meeting with Mazloum Abdi, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

According to Simonnet, the purpose of the delegation's visit to Rojava was to break the silence of the international community on what is happening in Rojava and to observe the resistance on the ground.

The French MP stated, “I was very impressed when I learned during our meeting with the Jineoloji organization that the first activity in the first villages liberated from ISIS was to hold women's meetings.”

“In Rojava, women fought not only against ISIS but also against patriarchal ideas. They took this opportunity both to defend their people and to achieve their own freedom.”

Simonnet remarked that the YPJ goes from door to door and invites women to meetings, adding: “Women's rights can only be secured permanently through organization.”

Speaking about their visit to Kobanê, Danielle Simonnet said she thought Rojava consisted only of flat plains but was surprised to see the mountainous and lush green nature.

The MP said that they attended a big event in Kobanê where people of all religions, languages and races were dancing together: “We did not expect people to be so full of the joy of life in such a war environment. We saw a picture of the system the Kurds want to build.”

She also talked about the emotional moments they experienced while visiting the graves of thousands of young people in the cemetery of martyrs in Kobanê.

One of the most striking visits of the delegation was to al-Hol camp, which is divided into two parts, with ISIS families on one side and ISIS defectors on the other.

Emphasizing that birth rates in Rojava are 10 times higher than elsewhere in the region, Simonnet said the Syrian Democratic Forces have demanded that the international community either establish a tribunal or allow countries to take back their own citizens for trial. However, she said, the international community turned a blind eye to the SDF bearing this burden alone.

The meeting with SDF Commander General Mazloum Abdi emphasized the importance of securing women's, cultural and ethnic rights for the future of Rojava. Simonnet said that the SDF is not against joining the Syrian army, but that they cannot lay down their arms without the guarantee of democratic confederalism.

The MP criticized France's Rojava policy, saying: “Erdoğan is waging a war against the Kurds in violation of international law. France, on the other hand, adheres to EU policies and gives in to the Turkish state's pressure through refugee agreements. The system built in Rojava is a model that even we should follow.”

Recalling the massacres of Kurdish activists in Paris in 2013 and 2022, Simonnet said that France has failed to give a clear answer to the search for justice and that the PKK remains on the EU terror list under pressure from the Turkish state.

Simonnet called for further solidarity to support the strengthening of the women's movement and the establishment of democratic confederalism in Rojava and said that they were inspired by the joy of life and the spirit of resistance of the Rojava people despite the war and attacks.