French President Emmanuel Macron criticised the situation in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and rejected US President Donald Trump’s claims that peace had been achieved there, stressing that humanitarian access had not resumed despite the declaration of peace. He made the remarks in his final address to the United Nations General Assembly before the end of his presidential term next May.
Macron rejects describing Trump’s plan as a victory
Macron spoke before the General Assembly hours after Trump had praised his Gaza peace plan from the same podium, describing it as a diplomatic victory. The French president said the world was witnessing a scene that everyone should be ashamed of, criticising the portrayal of Trump’s plan as a diplomatic achievement.
Macron said, striking the podium with his fist: “A year ago, here in this very hall, around 12 countries recognised Palestine. I hear the indifference of some: recognition is just a piece of paper, look at reality.” He added: “But what credibility do we have if we continue to show indifference towards Gaza? Some boast of an alleged peace. But this peace has not restored humanitarian access for even a second.”
“Will we stand by and watch this scene that should make us all feel ashamed?” Trump had said in his earlier address to the General Assembly: “A year ago, when I addressed the great leaders in this hall, the war in Gaza was still raging brutally. A few weeks later, we ended the war in Gaza and saved thousands of lives.”
Domestic criticism and France’s position on the West Bank
The White House has not yet responded to a request for comment on Macron’s remarks. The French president’s speech came after he faced criticism from politicians and activists in France, who accused him of failing to take sufficient steps since his country recognised a Palestinian state last September.
By contrast, Paris subsequently hardened its position on settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and imposed some sanctions. It also began procedures aimed at banning products from Israeli settlements established there. Macron referred to developments in the West Bank, saying: “Look at what is happening in the West Bank, where violations are committed every day. In whose name? The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has never been active in the West Bank.”
He continued: “What is happening there reinforces, day after day, the impossibility of a project that should be based on respect for the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to exist.” Relations between France and Israel have been highly tense over the past year. In this context, Macron said those who believe that violating the sovereignty of all of Israel’s neighbours would ensure its security were mistaken, adding: “They are weakening Israel’s security, both today and in the future.”
Macron warns against undermining the international order
The speech marked Macron’s final appearance at the General Assembly podium, which he first took in 2017, seven months before the next French presidential election. The French president broadened his remarks from Gaza and the West Bank to the future of the international order and the United Nations’ role in addressing conflicts.
Macron warned of “the world’s return to the law of the jungle”, saying countries now faced a choice between a world governed by force and coercion and a “civilised international community”. He said that, now more than ever, it was the duty of states to stand by the United Nations.
We cannot accept the new system of impunity that some wish to entrench
