Macron claims that France would recognize Palestinian statehood.
The statement distinguishes France from the United States and the majority of its closest allies, and may spark conflict with President Trump.
France will recognize the state of Palestine as part of “its historical commitment to a just and durable peace in the Middle East,” President Emmanuel Macron stated late on Thursday.
After months of hints and hesitations about the possibility of France recognizing a Palestinian state, he unexpectedly declared on X that he will formally announce his decision at the UN General Assembly in New York in September.
Today the most pressing issue is for the conflict in Gaza to end and for the civilian population to receive assistance said Mr. Macron. As anger grew worldwide over the continuing Israeli military activity in Gaza and the worsening starvation there, he issued his declaration.
A Palestinian state will be recognized by France, making it the first of the seven major industrialized nations in the Group of Seven, which also includes the United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan, and Italy. As things are, the choice seemed likely to annoy the Trump administration since it supports Israel and is making its own efforts to bring the war in Gaza to an end.
The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded angrily to the French concern. In a statement, he claimed, We strongly condemn Mr. Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre of 2023, and that a Palestinian state might serve as a launchpad to annihilate Israel.
Israel has repeatedly rejected France’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, alleging that it would reward Hamas terrorism and accusing Mr. Macron of heading “a crusade against the Jewish state.” The two nations’ relations have deteriorated and seem destined to get worse.
The statement coincided with the day that the United States and Israel withdrew from truce negotiations in Qatar, claiming that Hamas had not acted in good faith.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, stated on X that “The United States strongly rejects” Mr. Macron’s plan. In his blog, he went on to say, “This rash act merely advances Hamas’ agenda and undermines peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.”
The Palestinian ambassador to France, Hala Abou-Hassira, applauded Mr. Macron’s choice, telling a television interviewer that it showed a France that is “faithful to its history, faithful to its policies, and faithful to international law.” The message to Israel and the United States is clear, she continued: “One cannot continue to impose facts on the ground, facts that make a two-state solution impossible.”
The French decision is of a different nature, even if several other European nations, such as Spain, Ireland, and Norway, recognized a Palestinian state last year. France has the biggest Muslim and Jewish populations in Western Europe, and it is the only nuclear force and the only European Union member that is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
Like a growing number of world leaders, Mr. Macron has become frustrated by Mr. Netanyahu’s reluctance to put an end to the war even though tens of thousands of Gazans have perished and the territory is now in ruins. The French president and other world leaders have also been enraged by Mr. Netanyahu’s reluctance to propose any strategy for the future administration, security, and rebuilding of Gaza after the conflict ends.
Without going into further detail, Mr. Macron simply stated, “Confidence, clarity, and engagement. We will win the peace.” However, there is currently no peace, of course. His words nevertheless imply a belief that a route to a two-state peace still exists, even if the prospect of attaining that seems increasingly distant.
The occupied West Bank is now home to over 500,000 Israeli settlers. They are gradually whittling away at the area widely considered to be the center of a Palestinian state as their numbers and villages increase. Some of the more extreme members of Netanyahu’s right-wing administration have proposed that all Palestinians should abandon the remains of Gaza. Since the Hamas attack on October 7, which has garnered more support among Israelis, Mr. Netanyahu has devoted his political career to preventing the creation of a Palestinian state.
Apparently, President Trump is unwilling to put pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to bring the conflict to a close, and Mr. Macron’s relationship with the White House has been strained by disagreements on tariffs, Ukraine, and personal slights. The French president seemingly sensed that the time had come to separate from the United States and propose a unique European perspective on the Middle East.
Although France expressed its hope that this would occur, it was unclear if other members of the Group of 7 would follow the French lead. Additionally, it was unclear what territory France would recognize as making up a Palestinian state.
In an email, Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated that “It’s a powerful symbol, but without really doing anything on the ground to change Palestinians’ plight. It’s mostly virtue signaling.”
“The only viable solution that honors the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, that ends terrorism and violence in all its forms, and that permits Israel and all the countries of the region to live in peace and security” must be pursued with urgency, Mr. Macron wrote in a letter to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that was released at the same time as his statement.
In a letter last month, he made mention of Mr. Abbas’s request that Hamas “hand over its weapons,” release all captives right away, and withdraw from Gaza. Additionally, the Palestinian leader pledged to conduct elections and restructure the Palestinian Authority, which governs regions of the West Bank and is known for its inefficiency and corruption.
Palestinian promises of this kind have been made in the past, only to turn out to be worthless.
Mr. Macron stated, “I will be especially focused on the creation of a cease-fire in Gaza, the release of all hostages still held by Hamas, its disarmament, and the unification of the Palestinian Authority across all Palestinian territories.”
He also included a handwritten note: “With my confidence and my commitment for the peace and security of all.”
The majority of the world’s nations recognize Palestinian statehood, but the United States and the majority of its important allies do not.
The announcement from France seemed to indicate that it was abandoning the notion of acknowledging a Palestinian state.
With neither President Macron nor Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the de facto Saudi leader, showing up as planned last month, the United Nations meeting next week about a two-state peace, which is co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, has been effectively downgraded.
In June, the conference was postponed as a result of conflict between Israel and Iran. In accordance with established protocol, a French diplomat who wished to remain anonymous stated that Saudi Arabia had been evasive about scheduling a new date. The Saudi crown prince is in a precarious situation because Mr. Trump has been adamantly opposed to the conference.
Mr. Macron made a daring move to revive the conference, which seemed to be losing steam and significance. He is by nature a risk taker, as evidenced by his eight years in office and his ascent to the presidency at the age of 38, even if he hasn’t always laid the groundwork for his gambles to succeed.
