With Vincent Lemire, French historian specializing in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Gérard Araud, former French Ambassador to Israel, and Emmanuel Duparcq, journalist and president of the Society of Journalists of AFP.
- Vincent Lemire, French historian
- Gérard Araud, French diplomat
- Emmanuel Duparcq, reporter stationed at the AFP bureau in Pakistan, recipient of the Albert Londres Prize for a series of reports
It was an announcement that had been buzzing for months: President Emmanuel Macron hinted at it in April, and made it official on Thursday evening: France will indeed recognize the State of Palestine next September. An unexpected move, explains Gérard Araud: "Until now, France has always said that it would only recognize the Palestinian state within the framework of a peace process. But there is no peace process, and if you listen to Benjamin Netanyahu's reaction to the Elysée's announcement, he clearly says that he does not want a Palestinian state."
"Gaza has been virtually razed, in a deafening silence from the West"
"We are in a situation where there are not many solutions to the conflict: two states, the annexation of Palestinian territories by Israel, without political rights for Palestinians (which would be apartheid), or the expulsion of Palestinians. Israel has never clarified its vision, so France is taking a stance in favor of the two-state solution. It is above all a political gesture." For until now, while nearly 150 countries already recognize Palestine, no G7 power had taken the step.
A gesture welcomed by Gérard Araud: "Every day, when a missile falls on Kharkiv or Kyiv in Ukraine, we cry out loudly and we are right to do so. But on the other hand, the Gaza Strip has been virtually razed, in a deafening silence from Western powers. There is also a question of credibility: how can we talk about human rights? How can we talk about international law? This gesture by France is perhaps a way out of what many see as hypocrisy."
"France is maintaining its historic stance"
"This recognition should have taken place in mid-June, during the conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, which was canceled at the last minute following Israeli strikes on Iran," recalls Vincent Lemire. "We were expecting something. What is perhaps more unexpected is the form: this letter from President Emmanuel Macron to President Abbas. I looked at the archives: France's recognition of the state of Israel also came in a very brief letter, on January 24, 1949. Macron's letter to Abbas was on July 24, 2025."
For the historian, "France is in fact maintaining its historic stance. Today, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, there are 7 million Palestinians and 7 million Israeli Jews: they all have the right and need a state. In the current world, everyone needs a state! This solution is the only viable one. Emmanuel Macron has understood that this recognition could not be posthumous, and that if he waited any longer, he would end up recognizing a cemetery, because there are ethnic cleansing plans that are becoming increasingly clear, not only in words but now in actions."
Emmanuel Duparcq, president of the AFP SDJ, believes there was a "political and media moment." "It is said that President Macron was quite moved during a recent visit to Egypt, after meeting wounded people from Gaza. There have also been a number of appeals launched, an appeal from NGOs, an appeal from the UN, alerted to the humanitarian situation."
"For the first time, our journalists are telling us: we risk starving to death"
But also an appeal from the AFP, which is nevertheless known for always remaining completely neutral. "In recent days, this past week, we have had disturbing testimonies from our colleagues, which we were not used to from these dozen journalists who send photos, videos, and testimonies every day, and who have been covering the news for more than two years. In all countries around the world, AFP is there and covers all conflicts, all the time. We are used to, we know, we or our local journalists, that we take risks, that we can be killed by bombs, that we can be kidnapped, that we can be victims of shootings, of attacks. But here, for the first time, in a rather unprecedented way for us, journalists are saying: we risk starving to death."
"We had testimonies from our journalists, people who were always ready to get up in the morning to go and testify, to go and look for images, testimonies, saying: 'Anyway, there's nothing else to do, I can't stay at home,' who there, for the first time, in recent days, told us: 'I'm sorry, I don't have the strength. There's no more food, we haven't had anything this week, there's no more drinking water, we're all sick, we'd like to get up, but we can't anymore, we're stuck and we have no more hope.' For us, that was an incredible alarm signal."