Macron Weighs Recognition of Palestinian State, Stirring Israeli Backlash

Macron leans towards French recognition of the Palestinian State (Nara & DVIDS Public Domain Archive)

French President Emmanuel Macron made a statement to France 5 Television on April 9, alluding to the possibility of France recognizing a Palestinian State, saying, “We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” the Guardian reports.

In his statement, Macron was careful to walk a fine line between the Israeli and the Palestinian perspectives. For instance, according to the Guardian, he mentioned that the French “fight against those who deny Israel’s right to exist—which is the case with Iran—and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region.” 

Despite the French President’s effort to satisfy Israeli interests, Israeli leadership opposed the proposition. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar took to X on Wednesday to express his opposition to the move, calling “A ‘unilateral recognition’ of a fictional Palestinian state, by any country … a prize for terror and a boost for Hamas.”

The Palestinian reaction to the French President’s statement took quite a different tone. The Times reports that Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, the Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, called the move “a step in the right direction in line with safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the two-state solution.” 

The most recent bout of fighting between Israel and Hamas, which started on October 7, 2023, has inspired Ireland, Norway, Spain, and Slovenia to formally recognize a Palestinian state, bringing the total number of recognized countries to 150, as reported by Naharnet. A recognition by France would raise that number to 151. 

The French follow the Israeli-Palestinian conflict particularly closely since the country hosts both the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe, making President Macron’s movements on the contentious issue rather consequential. Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France, an umbrella organization of Jewish groups in France, criticized the move, calling it “an unacceptable political victory” for Hamas, according to Politico. The organization’s statement highlights much of France’s Jewish community's dissatisfaction with how President Macron has dealt with the Middle East crisis. 

Since the most recent bout of fighting between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, Macron has often positioned himself opposite the Israelis. The Caravel reports that Macron made disparaging comments about Israel’s founding following an Israeli attack on United Nations peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon in October of last year. 

Le Monde reports that Emmanuel Macron suggested his administration could officially recognize a Palestinian State during an international conference organized jointly with Saudi Arabia in June. Only time will tell what, if anything, will come of Macron’s promises and what impact they might have on French-Israeli relations, French-Palestinian relations, and French domestic and international politics.