Bernard-Henri Lévy, the philosopher-journalist, Claude Lanzmann, the film-maker, and Elie Wiesel, the Nobel peace laureate, urged the international community to block the appointment of a man whom they described as a racist and inciter of hate. They cited his call in the Egyptian parliament last May to burn all Hebrew language books in the Alexandria library. “If there are any there, I will myself burn them in front of you,” he said.

They also summarised Mr Hosni’s “nauseating” anti-Israeli positions, including allegations that Jews had infiltrated the world’s media and spread lies. “We invite all countries dedicated to liberty and culture to take the initiatives necessary to avert this threat and avoid the disaster that would be his nomination,” they said.