Macron's Palestine pivot: from sympathy for Israel to two-state champion

High-stakes diplomacy at UN in September faces fierce US and Israeli opposition

French President Emmanuel Macron has emerged in the past two years as an unlikely champion of Palestinian statehood.

His support has come as a surprise to many. When he was first elected in 2017, he showed little interest in Palestinian engagement and instead focused on building his relationship with Israel.

So, when he first announced his intention, in early 2025, of recognising a Palestinian state, many doubted Mr Macron would actually do it. After all, his predecessor Francois Hollande had made similar promises and failed to deliver.

But now, Mr Macron is set to recognise Palestine in September, and is likely to do so with two other Group of Seven countries – the UK and Canada – as well as Australia, New Zealand and Malta.

These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed

Emmanuel Macron on Gaza

The initiative is framed as a last-ditch attempt at creating the possibility for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

As he leads diplomatic efforts towards the establishment of a Palestinian state, Mr Macron has faced not only Israeli but also US anger.

Both countries have tried to portray him as out of step with France's Jewish population of around half a million people.

October 7

Like many other western leaders, Mr Macron travelled to Jerusalem in a show of support for Israel after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led incursions killed around 1,200 people.

There, he expressed solidarity with Israel, and drew comparisons between Hamas and ISIS, invoking the spectre of extremist attacks on French soil. “You are not alone,” he said.

At the time, the two leaders enjoyed relatively good relations. Two months into his presidency in 2017, Mr Macron had taken the unprecedented step of inviting the Israeli leader to a national commemoration for the victims of a mass deportation of French Jews during the Second World War.

“That day, you were keen to stand beside me,” Mr Macron reminded Mr Netanyahu in a letter earlier this week, in which he described the Israeli leader's accusations that he was fuelling anti-Semitism as “an offence to France as a whole”.

On August 17, Mr Netanyahu wrote a public letter to Mr Macron, alleging that anti-Semitic attacks in France had “surged” since Mr Macron said he would recognise Palestine.

Mr Netanyahu's accusations that Mr Macron was fanning the flames of anti-Semitism were recently echoed by the US ambassador to France, Charles Kushner. He was summoned by the French Foreign Ministry for an explanation.

France has been plagued for decades by spikes in anti-Semitic attacks that echo Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

News of physical attacks against Jews, of desecration of Jewish sites, or of assets related to Israel, routinely make headlines in France.

While they nearly quadrupled after October 7 to 1,676 in 2023 compared to 2022, a 6 per cent reduction was reported in 2024, according to the latest report from France's National Consultative Commission on Human Rights. Statistics for 2025 are not yet available.

November 2023

One month into Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Mr Macron became one of the first western leaders to publicly challenge the operation’s scale and humanitarian cost.

“These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed,” he told the BBC. “There is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop.”

At the time, more than 11,000 Gazans had been killed. The figure is now close to 63,000.

President Macron was among the first western leaders to criticise Israel for the civilian toll from its military campaign in Gaza. EPA

The remarks sparked fury in Israel, with Mr Netanyahu accusing Mr Macron of making “a serious mistake factually and morally”.

Since then, Mr Macron and Mr Netanyahu have regularly clashed, with the French leader last year accusing Israel of “spreading barbarity” in the face of claims of a “just war” in Gaza.

The two leaders last spoke in June, after Israel's bombing campaign against Iran. That came eight months after a tense call over the Gaza war.

Despite the tensions, Mr Macron has made a point of not suspending France's support for Israel's security needs, particularly regarding Iran.

February 2024

In a notable policy shift, Mr Macron said at a joint press conference in Paris with Jordan's King Abdullah II that recognising Palestine was “no longer taboo” for France.

‘’We owe it to Palestinians, whose aspirations have been trampled on for too long,” he said. “We owe it to Israelis, who lived through the worst anti-Semitic massacre of our time. We owe it to a region that is seeking to rise above those who promote chaos and seed revenge.’’

But he gave no timeline and critics accused him of stalling, like Mr Hollande had done. Ireland, Spain, Norway and Slovenia moved ahead with recognition in 2024 without France.

Yet behind the scenes, groundwork was being laid. In a call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Mr Macron urged him to implement the necessary reforms, setting recognition as a goal.

In June, Mr Abbas responded with a letter in which he called for the demilitarisation of Hamas and its exclusion from Gaza's future governance, in line with French demands. Paris hailed the letter as a diplomatic breakthrough.

In early April, after visiting Rafah, on the Gaza border, Mr Macron promised to recognise Palestine “within months”, initially looking to a June announcement at the UN. But Israel's surprise attacks against Iran disrupted his plans, which were postponed to September.

September recognition

On July 24, Mr Macron said on X that he would recognise Palestine before the United Nations General Assembly in September.

“We must build the State of Palestine, guarantee its viability, and ensure that by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the region,” he wrote.

The date has been set for September 22, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said this week.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (centre left with President Macron), has endorsed French demands on Hamas and Gaza's governance. EPA

The announcement came amid growing international outrage over famine in Gaza and reports that hundreds had been killed at aid distribution points. Mr Macron appeared to be pushing a calculated diplomatic domino effect.

It was a gamble that appears to have succeeded, in part.

France and the UK are permanent members of the UN Security Council and represent long-standing western holdouts on Palestinian recognition.

But initial hopes that Saudi Arabia would in turn normalise relations with Israel have collapsed. For that, a ceasefire in Gaza would have been needed.

The US quickly condemned France's move. “This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Without US and Israeli support, a Palestinian state remains elusive. But Mr Macron has shown that he is able to create momentum, which may yet lead to unexpected results.