French President Emmanuel Macron has reiterated his country’s commitment to a two-state solution as the only viable path toward lasting peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Speaking during a visit to Indonesia, Macron said that France is actively considering the recognition of Palestine as an independent state, in line with a fair and enduring peace process.
“We can only achieve sustainable peace through a political solution,” Macron stated, underlining that France’s Middle East policy is not one-sided. He further announced plans to co-host an international conference in New York alongside Saudi Arabia, focusing on the Gaza situation. The conference aims to support Palestinian statehood and ensure Israel’s security and internationally recognized status.
Analysts believe France’s position could provoke discontent in Israel and deepen divisions within the Western bloc regarding the Middle East crisis.
Earlier, in an interview on April 9 with French TV channel France 5, Macron had said, “We are now moving in a direction where recognizing the State of Palestine is clearly on the table. We hope to make this a reality in the coming months.”
He added that France intends to take a leading role in a planned conference under the auspices of the United Nations this June, in partnership with Saudi Arabia, with the goal of building international consensus around recognizing Palestine.
To date, 145 of the 193 United Nations member states have recognized Palestine as a sovereign state. These include most countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. However, nations such as the United States, Canada, most Western European countries, Australia, Japan, and South Korea have not yet extended recognition.
In April, a U.S. veto blocked a proposal in the UN Security Council that would have granted Palestine full UN membership.
Notably, on November 15, 1988, during the first Intifada, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
