World News: France Takes a Stand on a Two State Solution

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Category: World News - Europe

Published on Tuesday, 05 August 2025 08:50

Written by Olivier Longhi

French President Emmanuel Macron, to the ire of the world, announced he would recognize the Palestinian state at the annual General Assembly meeting at the United Nations in September ushering in a new era in France's geopolitical persuasion.

France's recognition of the Palestinian state testifies to the desire to re-inscribe France in the global diplomatic game. But this isolated initiative, although positive, does not augur well for a change in Israel's policy towards the Gaza Strip and the United States towards Israel.

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After Emmanuel Macron's decision in September to recognize the Palestinian state as such at the UN, other nations, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, are now embracing this process of legitimization and recognition. Irritating to the highest degree for the Trump administration, unthinkable for the Jewish state, this decision above all compensates for the inaction of the international community with regard to the war led by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

The question then arises as to whether this recognition will bring peace to a region that has been shaken for decades? It is of course too early to know, but it is certain that the recognition of the Palestinian state will further strain relations between Israel and the countries that have opted for the choice of legitimation.

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Outside the Field of Nations

Although the level of tension to come remains to be established, the arbiter, in this case the United States, will be the only one to control the potential escalation or de-escalation linked to recognition. Israel, which has been counting on the support of the United States since the end of the sixties, moreover at the initiative of the Camp David Accords (I and II), finds itself embarrassed by allies who do not go in the expected direction.

Because keeping the Palestinian state out of the field of recognized nations allowed Israel to act with impunity on a soil that had no territorial legitimacy, at most the one that was attributed to it not the one that was officially recognized by solemn and fixed borders. The recognition of the Palestinian state in fact calls on international law, calling on it to lay the legal foundations for the creation of a state as was the case for Israel in 1948.

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Internal Tensions

At the same time, it revives the question of the right to intervene, which until then had no reason to exist since the Palestinian state did not officially exist. For the time being, however, the United Nations General Assembly has not recognized the State in question, as the United Nations is also affected by multiple internal tensions and other contradictory influences that can slow down the recognition process.

In the light of these elements, the French decision therefore has a symbolic aspect, intended to restore the image of a French diplomacy that is powerless, with little or no influence on the international scale because it is bound by its more or less official, visible or invisible allegiance to the United States. Recognizing the Palestinian state cannot therefore be a single or isolated decision but a collective will, including Israel and the United States.

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Bio: Olivier Longhi has extensive experience in European history. A seasoned journalist with fifteen years of experience, he is currently a professor of history and geography in the Toulouse region of France. He has held a variety of publishing positions, including Head of Agency and Chief of Publishing. A journalist and recognized blogger, editor, and editorial project manager, he has trained and managed editorial teams, worked as a journalist for various local radio stations, was a press and publishing consultant, and was a communications consultant.