France has stood firm on its decision to officially recognize Palestinian statehood, despite facing criticism both at home and abroad.
The announcement was made by President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, ahead of a United Nations meeting scheduled for September, making France the most influential European country to take this step.
Macron’s move was sharply condemned by Israel, which accused France of “rewarding terror.”
Meanwhile, U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled the decision as “reckless” and argued that it “only serves Hamas propaganda.”
Adding a touch of satire, Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, joked on X (formerly Twitter) that Macron failed to specify where the future Palestinian state would be located.
Huckabee quipped, “I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called ‘Franc-en-Stine.’”
The militant group Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by both the U.S. and the European Union, welcomed France’s recognition, calling it “a positive step in the right direction toward doing justice to our oppressed Palestinian people.”
However, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot countered this view on Friday, asserting that the recognition actually opposes Hamas’s agenda.
“Hamas has always ruled out a two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France goes against that terrorist organisation,” Barrot stated on X.
He emphasized that France’s action represents “backing the side of peace against the side of war.”
Within France, reactions were mixed. Left-wing groups praised the move, while right-wing figures criticized it. The government itself seemed divided, with some officials choosing silence.
Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), criticized the announcement as “rushed” and accused it of giving Hamas “unexpected institutional and international legitimacy.”
Marine Le Pen, RN’s parliamentary leader, went further, saying France was effectively “recognising a Hamas state and therefore a terrorist state.”
On the left, Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the France Unbowed party, called the move “a moral victory,” though he lamented that the recognition was not immediate.
He warned that by September, Gaza could become a “graveyard.”
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a right-wing politician with strained ties to Macron, avoided commenting, citing his focus on “a serious topic” related to the “security of French people on holiday.”
Francois-Xavier Bellamy, vice president of the Les Republicains party, described the recognition as “counter-productive” or, at best, “pointless.”
Bellamy warned it could endanger both Israeli and Palestinian civilians, victims of Hamas’s violence.
He also pointed out that Macron’s move deviates from previously stated conditions for recognizing Palestine, which included the demilitarization of Hamas, excluding the group from any government, releasing all Israeli hostages in Gaza, and securing recognition of Israel by several Arab states.
“None of these conditions have been met,” Bellamy said.
On the streets of Paris, some citizens voiced support. Julien Deoux, a developer, expressed that it was “about time” France took this step.
