On July 23, 2025, a group of 44 French minors and eight adults, including a summer camp counselor, were forcibly removed from Vueling flight V8166 traveling from Valencia, Spain, to Paris, France. The incident, which has since sparked a diplomatic controversy, centers on allegations of excessive force by Spanish law enforcement and accusations of antisemitism linked to the passengers' Jewish faith.
The French government ministers Aurore Bergé and Benjamin Haddad met with the counselor on July 29 after French authorities reached out to the CEO of Vueling and the Spanish ambassador to France to investigate whether the group had been discriminated against due to their religion. The counselor, who wished to remain anonymous and is described as “shocked,” vehemently disputed the official account that the group was removed for unruly behavior.
According to Spanish police and Vueling, the minors repeatedly tampered with emergency equipment and disrupted the crew's safety demonstration, leading the plane’s captain to order their removal at Valencia’s Manises Airport. Vueling stated that some children engaged in confrontational acts such as loosening life jackets, tampering with overhead oxygen masks, and removing a high-pressure oxygen cylinder, which are violations of air safety regulations.
However, the counselor and several passengers on board provided a starkly different narrative. She described the airline crew as hostile from the beginning and recounted that a child briefly sang a Hebrew song but ceased immediately when requested. She insisted that no behavior warranted the group’s removal or the Civil Guard’s severe response. Other passengers, including one named Damien, corroborated that the group was calm and that no disruptive behavior occurred during the flight. Damien noted, “There was no shouting, no violence,” and that everyone was attentive during the safety demonstration.
Videos circulating on social media showed Spanish Civil Guard officers holding the female counselor down and handcuffing her, which fueled outrage. Her lawyer, Muriel Ouaknine Melki, told The Associated Press that the counselor sustained bruises on her legs, arms, and body after being handcuffed and held in an arm lock. She has been signed off work for 15 days due to “temporary incapacity” caused by the incident. Ouaknine Melki confirmed they are collecting evidence before filing a formal complaint.
The French ministers condemned the “excessive and brutal use of force” by the Civil Guard, stating, “No action justified the disembarkation or the excessive and brutal use of force by the Civil Guard against the young woman.” They also criticized a statement by Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente, who had referred to the minors as “Israeli brats” in a now-deleted tweet from July 26. The ministers denounced his remarks for “equating French children of Jewish faith with Israeli citizens, as if that somehow justified the treatment they received.”
Amid rising antisemitic acts across Europe since the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel, Bergé and Haddad called on Vueling and Spanish authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to clarify the events. “We will never accept the normalization of antisemitism,” they declared. “We will always stand with our fellow citizens who suffer from antisemitic hatred, and we will never compromise.”
Vueling categorically denied any religious motivation behind the removal, asserting that the incident was strictly related to safety concerns and disruptive behavior. The Civil Guard spokesperson also stated that the officers involved were unaware of the group’s religious affiliation. Despite this, some Israeli news outlets and an Israeli minister online reported that the students were Jewish and that their removal was religiously motivated, claims that have been strongly contested.
Karine Lamy, mother of a boy in the group, told i24 TV that one child sang a Hebrew song before being warned by the crew to stop or face police intervention. The children complied, yet minutes later, the police boarded and ordered the entire group to disembark. This sequence of events adds complexity to the narrative, contrasting sharply with Vueling’s account of repeated disruptions.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot reached out to Vueling’s CEO, Carolina Martinoli, over the weekend following the incident to express “deep concern” about the treatment of the passengers. The Club Kineret association, which organized the summer camp, has yet to provide direct testimonies from those removed from the flight.
This incident has spotlighted broader concerns about antisemitism in Europe, particularly in the context of heightened tensions following the 2023 attacks in Israel. The French government’s response underscores a commitment to combating discrimination and ensuring the safety and dignity of its citizens abroad.
As investigations continue, the contrasting accounts from the airline, police, passengers, and the counselor highlight the challenges in discerning the full truth. What remains clear is that the fallout has strained Franco-Spanish relations and ignited a fierce debate over religious discrimination, law enforcement conduct, and airline passenger rights.
With mounting pressure from French officials and public scrutiny, Vueling and Spanish authorities face the task of delivering a transparent and comprehensive explanation to restore trust and address the serious allegations of excessive force and potential antisemitism.
