France asks for explanation from Spanish airline Vueling for the removal of French Jewish teens from plane

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called the president of the airline Vueling to ask for "explanations" after some 50 French Jewish teenagers were removed from a plane while returning from vacation in Spain.

The head of French diplomacy expressed during his conversation with Carolina Martinoli, president and CEO of Spanish airline Vueling, "the profound shock aroused by the removal of a group of young French Jews from a company plane," his ministry said Saturday in a statement.

"Determine whether these compatriots were subjected to discrimination on religious grounds"

"Explanations were requested, in particular to determine whether these compatriots were subjected to discrimination on religious grounds," the foreign ministry added. According to the statement, explanations were also requested from the Spanish ambassador to France.

Martinoli "assured that a rigorous internal investigation was being carried out and that the conclusions of that investigation would be shared with the French and Spanish authorities," it said.

Complaint against Vueling for religious "physical, psychological violence and discrimination"

The Club Kineret association, organizer of the camp, announced its intention to file a complaint against the company "for physical, psychological violence and discrimination on religious grounds," its lawyer, Julie Jacob, told AFP on Thursday.

The incident occurred Wednesday afternoon as the group of teenagers, who had been in Spain for two weeks, were preparing to take off from Valencia Airport in the southeast, bound for Paris-Orly.

In a statement released Thursday, the Spanish company accused the teenagers of "inappropriate behavior and a highly conflictive attitude, jeopardizing the proper development of the flight."

On the contrary, the camp organizer claimed that the group was removed "without a valid reason."