Gambiaj.com – (NEW YORK, United States) – French President Emmanuel Macron is poised to make one of the most consequential moves of his presidency on Monday, 22 September, as he formally recognizes the State of Palestine during a high-level conference co-chaired with Saudi Arabia on the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The announcement, set to be delivered on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, marks a bold gamble by the French leader at a moment of heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Before taking the podium at the United Nations, Macron will meet with representatives of Israeli and Palestinian civil societies in a gesture underscoring the symbolic weight of his decision. According to the Élysée, the move reflects months of preparation dating back to April, when the president, shaken by the humanitarian situation in Gaza, first signaled his intention to act following a visit to El-Arich in Egypt.
Critics had dismissed the plan as a “solo initiative,” but Macron has sought to demonstrate international backing.
France will be joined by around ten countries—including some G7 members—who will also recognize Palestinian statehood at Monday’s conference. The joint initiative with Saudi Arabia outlines a post-war roadmap for Gaza, excluding Hamas from future governance, preparing for elections, and securing the release of Israeli hostages.
The French presidency insists the recognition is not premature. Macron argues that recognizing Palestine now keeps open a political path toward the two-state solution while pressing for Hamas’ disarmament and exclusion from power. On Sunday, he added that France will not open an embassy in Palestine until all Israeli hostages captured in the 7 October 2023 attacks are freed.
Diplomatic Fallout
The move has already drawn sharp criticism from Israel and the French Jewish community. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened retaliatory measures, potentially including the annexation of more territory in the occupied West Bank or the closure of the French consulate in Jerusalem.
In France, Jewish leaders have urged Macron to make recognition conditional on Hamas’ dismantling and the release of hostages.
Macron, who had initially planned to travel to Israel before the announcement but was rebuffed, instead addressed Israeli audiences directly through an interview with the country’s N12 television channel, stressing that his goal is peace and warning that Israeli military operations harming civilians are eroding the country’s international image.
The Élysée has sought to reassure critics by highlighting Macron’s balanced stance, pointing to his unprecedented national tribute in France to victims of the 7 October attacks.
However, the timing of the decision—amid domestic political paralysis and deep divisions over the Middle East conflict—has raised the stakes for the French president.
Shifting International Dynamics
France’s recognition follows similar announcements by the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, all of which stressed that Hamas would be excluded from the political process in a future Palestinian state.
By contrast, Germany reaffirmed its long-standing position that recognition should only come at the end of a negotiated process, even as it acknowledged the need to begin talks immediately.
Macron’s decision was also influenced by concessions made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a June 2025 letter to the French leader and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In it, Abbas condemned Hamas’ 7 October attacks, pledged the group would lay down its arms and be excluded from future governance in Gaza, promised a demilitarized state under international protection, and vowed to hold elections within 12 months of the war’s end while halting payments to families of Palestinians who attacked Israelis.
The French presidency has hailed these as “unprecedented commitments” toward a two-state solution, though Israel’s ambassador in Paris has dismissed them as empty promises from a leader with waning legitimacy.
With the backing of several Western allies and Arab states, Macron is attempting to place France at the forefront of efforts to revive the moribund peace process. Whether the gamble succeeds or sparks further diplomatic rifts remains to be seen. As one Élysée adviser put it ahead of Monday’s speech, “This is a tipping point.”
