France to recognize Palestine at UN General Assembly, Macron announces

PARIS, France (MNTV) — French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will formally recognize the State of Palestine during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September, marking a significant diplomatic shift and making France the most influential Western power to endorse Palestinian statehood.

Macron made the announcement in a post on the social platform X, emphasizing the urgent need to end the genocide in Gaza and protect the civilian population.

“The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,” he wrote.

The declaration comes amid growing international outrage over the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, where severe shortages of food and aid are becoming apocalyptic.

Macron’s decision adds further pressure on Israel, which has faced increasing criticism from world leaders and humanitarian organizations.

France’s formal recognition of Palestine will bring the total number of countries recognizing a Palestinian state to over 140, including more than a dozen in Europe.

The recognition is largely symbolic but carries weight as it signals growing international support for a two-state solution.

The Palestinian leadership welcomed the move. A formal letter was delivered to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Thursday, confirming France’s intent.

Hussein Al Sheikh, Vice President of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said the move underscores France’s commitment to international law and Palestinian rights.

“We express our thanks and appreciation to President Macron,” Al Sheikh posted online.

France, home to both Europe’s largest Jewish community and the biggest Muslim population in Western Europe, has long grappled with Middle East tensions spilling over into domestic politics.

Macron, who initially expressed firm support for Israel following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s prolonged genocidal campaign in Gaza.

“Given its historic commitment to a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the state of Palestine,” Macron wrote.

“Peace is possible.”

The timing of Macron’s declaration coincides with growing international dissatisfaction with the stalled ceasefire talks in Qatar, which the United States recently abandoned, alleging a lack of cooperation from Hamas.

It also precedes a joint UN conference on the two-state solution, co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia next week.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in calling for urgent talks on ending the Gaza genocide, ensuring aid delivery, and advancing peace efforts, which are stalled by Israel mounting to crimes against humanity.

“A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,” Starmer said.

Despite long-standing intimidation from Israeli leaders to Palestinian statehood, international consensus continues to build around the two-state solution as the only viable path to peace.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and continues to maintain settlements and military control over much of the occupied territory, killing Palestinian in unprecedented numbers.

The last substantive peace negotiations collapsed in 2009 after Netanyahu’s return to power. Since then, repeated efforts have failed to revive dialogue between the parties.