Iraqi Jewish family sues France over Baghdad embassy use, seeks $22 million

A Jewish Iraqi family that fled Iraq generations ago has sued the French government in Paris, saying France has used the family’s Baghdad mansion as its embassy without paying the family rent for decades and seeking $22 million in damages. The Lawee family says brothers Ezra and Khedouri Lawee built the house in the 1930s and leased it to France when the embassy moved in during the 1960s after the family left.

The family contends Iraq later expropriated the property under laws that dispossessed Jewish owners and that France unilaterally stopped honoring its original rental contract, switching to payments to the Iraqi government; France has paid rent to Iraq since 1969, the family says it was paid directly until 1974 and then ignored.

The family’s lawyers argue the case should be seen alongside restitution claims for victims of state discrimination and looting, while the French government has asked for the case to be dismissed, saying responsibility rests with Iraqi authorities. Experts cited in the complaint say French restitution rules do not plainly cover property located outside France and dispute whether the Lawees’ claim fits traditional restitution categories.

A hearing is set for Monday in Paris, where the family’s lawyers plan to press France’s stated commitments to righting past wrongs.

Key Topics

World, Lawee Family, France, French Embassy, Baghdad, Iraqi Expropriation Law