French recognition of Palestine: Historic shift or hollow gesture

In a bold and historic move, President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will officially recognize the State of Palestine, signaling a significant shift in the country’s foreign policy and its stance on Israel’s war on Gaza.

While the decision is being hailed as admirable, it also reflects a deeper reckoning—an implicit admission that France’s longstanding alignment with Israel, particularly amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, has damaged its global reputation.

Macron made the announcement in a post on X on Thursday, stating that France will formally recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The decision comes amid growing international outrage over Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and triggered a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Severely restricted aid deliveries have fueled widespread hunger, with over 100 aid and human rights organizations this week calling for urgent international intervention. They condemned Israel’s blockade and deliberate starvation tactics as collective punishment.

At home, Macron faces rising domestic pressure. France, historically one of Israel’s key allies, has come under intense public criticism for its perceived complicity in Israel’s war on Gaza. Against this backdrop, Macron’s move is widely seen as a calculated effort to appease domestic discontent and obscure France’s role in enabling the continued assault on Gaza.

In his statement, Macron declared, “The urgent need today is for the war in Gaza to end and for the civilian population to be rescued.” If France is serious about this call, it should leverage its seat on the UN Security Council to press for an immediate ceasefire and ensure unrestricted humanitarian access.

Though Palestinians and many international voices have welcomed Macron’s announcement, it does little to reverse the harm already inflicted. Symbolism must now be matched with concrete, sustained political action.

France’s recognition makes it the most influential European country—and the first G7 nation—to take this step, following similar moves by the European countries of Norway,

Today, more than 140 of the UN’s 193 member states either recognize or are committed to recognizing Palestinian statehood. Yet major Western powers, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, continue to withhold recognition.

These nations are also grappling with growing domestic scrutiny. In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure from within his own party to acknowledge Palestinian statehood amid the worsening crisis. On Thursday, Starmer condemned the “unspeakable and indefensible” conditions in Gaza, reaffirming that Palestinian statehood is an “inalienable right.” But as with Macron, his remarks seem intended as much to address domestic concerns. 

For now, France’s move is significant not only for its timing but also for its potential to shift the political landscape. As a major global power, France may pave the way for other hesitant Western governments to reconsider their positions.

Israel’s war on Gaza has laid waste to much of the territory but failed to crush Palestinian resistance. The resilience demonstrated by Palestinians has altered the global narrative, compelling even Israel’s closest allies to reassess the political and moral costs of their support.

Macron’s announcement could mark the beginning of a new chapter in international diplomacy on Palestine. But without sustained pressure to end the war and lift the siege, the recognition risks being remembered as little more than a symbolic gesture.

 

Macron seeks to add Israel and Saudi Arabia to negotiation with Iran

According to a Reuters report, French President Emmanuel Macron has praised decision of the United States to engage with Iran. He also suggested Saudi Arabia and Israel must ultimately be involved in the negotiation with Iran. 

Macron claimed it was time for a new negotiation because Iran was closer to a nuclear weapon.  He also said the international community has to deal with Iran’s missile program.

Speaking with the Washington-based Atlantic Council think tank in a video conference from Paris, Macron noted, “We do need to finalize, indeed, a new negotiation with Iran.”

“I will do whatever I can to support any initiative from the US side to reengage a ... dialogue and I will be here ... I was here, and available two years ago and one and a half (years) ago, to try to be an honest broker and a committed broker in this dialogue,” he added.

Iran has already objected to the inclusion of Saudi Arabia to the JCPOA let alone Israel which Iran does not recognize and that it opposes a nuclear weapons free zone in West Asia.

In remarks on Wednesday, President Hassan Rouhani said there will be no changes to the content of the JCPOA and that no other country will be added to it.

Rouhani was in fact responding to Saudi Arabia which has said if the new Biden administration plans to rejoin the JCPOA its country should also be included. French President Emmanuel Macron has also called for inclusion of Saudi Arabia in the agreement. 

Rouhani emphasized, “The undue words should not be said. We did a job resulted from hard work. It took more than ten years to gain the achievements (JCPOA). In the beginning of the eleventh government, we made efforts during the first two years” to reach the multilateral agreement. 

In 2018, former US President Donald Trump quitted the JCPOA, which was designed to restrict Iran’s peaceful program in return for the lifting of the US and other sanctions. His successor, President Joe Biden, has said that if Iran returns to “strict” compliance with the deal, the US will too.

The Trump administration restored the US sanctions that Obama removed in 2015. Trump and his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo perused a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran with the aim of strangulating the Iranian economy. 

Abolfazl Amouei, the spokesman for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, has responded to a French call to include Saudi Arabia in any future talks with Iran about the nuclear issue by saying that there are no links between Riyadh and the issue.

“Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with the nuclear agreement,” Amouei told the Qatari-owned Al Arabi Al Jadid newspaper, declaring his country’s refusal to include Riyadh in any possible talks with the parties to the nuclear agreement reached with Iran in 2015.

He stressed, “The Islamic Republic will not negotiate again about this agreement.”

According to Amouei, Riyadh did not have a place in the nuclear negotiations and that it has nothing to do with the issues related to the nuclear agreement between Iran and major world powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, put out a statement dismissing the French president's recent remarks about the need for a new nuclear deal with Tehran. He called on Macron to “exercise self-restraint and refrain from hasty and ill-advised stances.”

“The JCPOA is a multilateral international agreement that has been endorsed and stabilized by the (UN) Security Council Resolution 2231. It is by no means re-negotiable, and its parties are also definite and unchangeable,” Khatibzadeh noted.

Pointing to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and Europe’s failure to maintain it, the spokesman said, “If there is any willingness to revive and save the JCPOA, the solution is easy. The US should return to the JCPOA and lift the whole JCPOA and non-JCPOA sanctions that have been imposed (on Iran) during the tenure of the previous president of that country.”

Aviv Kochav, chief of staff of Israeli armed forces, has recently issued stark threats against Iran while railing against the nuclear deal.

He said that Israel is not welcoming the expected efforts by the US and its European allies to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. The top Israeli general claimed that he had ordered several plans to launch offensive operations against Iran while voicing Israel’s opposition to any efforts to revive the JCPOA or even to improve it.

“I have instructed the IDF to prepare several operational plans in addition to existing ones, which we will develop throughout the coming year. The power to initiate them lies with the political echelon. However, the offensive options need to be prepared, ready and on the table,” Kochavi said in remarks delivered at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies 14th Annual International Conference.