IN an emotionally charged speech marked by a profound outpouring of grief, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a memorable address to the United Nations General Assembly at its recent session. He championed the Palestinian cause, took a swipe at Israel, and strongly condemned the atrocities in Gaza and the escalating settler violence in the West Bank.

His words — “the so-called peace in Gaza is a spectacle that should shame us all” — would echo for years to come and haunt those who have remained indifferent to the killing of more than 70,000 civilians in Gaza, including women and children. Moved by the suffering of the population still trapped in Gaza, the French president spoke with deep anguish, pointing out that “not a single humanitarian corridor had reopened”.

He took a jibe at United States President Donald Trump as well over his Board of Peace initiative, which, he suggested, had failed to bring meaningful relief to the people of Gaza. On the question of Palestinian statehood, the French president delivered a particularly piercing remark, banging his fist on the podium: “A year ago, here in this very hall, about a dozen states had recognised Palestine. I hear the cynicism of some people, (saying): ‘Recognition is just a piece of paper, look at the reality’.”

One had expected that at least some of the Muslim leaders would carry the same fiery, forceful and uncompromising stance as did the head of a major European state; a non-Muslim state, mind you. Their speeches, many had hoped, would centre squarely on Palestinian rights, the devastation and loss of civilian life in Gaza, and the escalating settler violence and displacement in the West Bank. But that, tragically, was not to be.

Arif Majeed
Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2026