PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron hopes that his country formally recognising a Palestinian state in September will encourage other countries to follow suit, according to analysts.
International envoys are set to discuss a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict early next week in New York, before a further summit co-hosted by France ahead of the UN General Assembly in September.
Macron’s announcement on Thursday came as international alarm grew about the plight of the more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel’s war has triggered a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings of mass starvation.
“The sense of urgency may have driven the president to move forward alone,” France’s former ambassador to Israel Gerard Araud told the France Inter broadcaster.
Besides the humanitarian crisis and “the shocking declarations of certain Israeli ministers” on the fate they wish for all Gazans, Macron may also have been influenced by the political climate in France, said David Khalfa of the Jean Jaures Foundation.
The war has triggered tensions in France, which is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union, as well as the biggest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States.
France has long advocated for the “two-state solution” for a Palestinian state to live in peace side-by-side with an Israeli one.
Macron’s original idea was for France and other countries to recognise a Palestinian state at the same time as other nations – including Gulf heavyweight Saudi Arabia – normalised ties with Israel.
As that proposal did not appear to gain traction, Macron made his announcement in the hope of spurring others to do likewise in the run-up to September’s UN General Assembly, said analyst Amelie Ferey.
“The idea is to have a little over a month to potentially rally other countries to make a larger announcement in New York,” said Ferey, an analyst at the French Institute of International Relations.
“The United Kingdom and Canada could perhaps follow suit,” she added.
Other options on the table could include a UN peacekeeping mission, including personnel from neighbouring Egypt, Camille Lons, an expert from the European Council on Foreign Relations said.
Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2025
