Emmanuel Macron Photo: Stephanie Lecocq / Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that Paris may officially recognise the state of Palestine as early as June 2025. In response, a number of Middle Eastern countries – including Saudi Arabia – may recognise Israel for the first time. The French leader said this in an interview with France 5 TV channel, Reuters reports.
What did Macron say?
“We must move towards the recognition of a Palestinian state. We will do this over the coming months. I am not doing this to please anyone. I am doing this because it is just,” Macron said.
The President stressed that France wants to be part of a “collective dynamic” that will not only recognise Palestine, but also ensure that those states that have not yet done so recognise Israel.
What does this mean for the Middle East?
Despite the fact that Palestine has already been recognised by about 150 countries, most Western countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and France itself, have not yet done so.
At the same time, several key countries in the region – Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen – do not recognise Israel. Macron hopes that his initiative will become part of a “mutual diplomatic exchange”.
What are you planning for June?
Macron confirmed that in June, France, together with Saudi Arabia, plans to hold a high-level conference to promote mutual recognition of Palestine and Israel.
This step could be the most significant breakthrough in the Middle East process in recent decades.
War, diplomats, deadlock
The Israeli military campaign in Gaza, which has been ongoing since October 2023 following the Hamas attack, has made the peace process almost impossible. But this crisis has forced some Western capitals to reconsider their approach to the two-state solution.
Macron is one of the few Western leaders who openly calls for the creation of a Palestinian state as the only way to stability in the region.
