France to Break Away from UK & US in Recognising Palestine as Nation State

French President Emanuel Macron

by Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 18 (IPS) - France, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, the most powerful political body at the UN, is planning to break ranks with the other two Western members, the US and UK-- and recognize Palestine as a nation state.

French president Emmanuel Macron was quoted as saying that France would recognize a Palestinian state within months, and suggested he could do it alongside a UN conference in New York in June.

Currently the 15-member Security Council comprises 10 non-permanent members, elected on the basis of geographical rotation for two-year terms, and five permanent members (P-5): the US, UK, France, Russia and China (with several other major powers, including India, Germany and Japan, trying unsuccessfully to join the P-5)

As of April 2025, 147 of the 193 UN member states have recognized the State of Palestine as a sovereign nation. This recognition includes countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, but excludes major Western powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. WikipediaReuters

Palestine has been a “non-member observer state” at the UN General Assembly since November 2012. Efforts to achieve full UN membership have been hindered by the United States' veto power in the Security Council.

The U.S. has long opposed any unilateral recognition of Palestine – and is very unlikely to change its position even against the backdrop of France’s decision to recognize Palestine.

Asked if the US position still remains the same, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters April 10: “Well, I can tell you that we are aware of, of course, the reports that you refer to regarding the French government’s remarks, and we refer you to them for further comment”.

“What I can say is that the United States stands firmly with the state of Israel in its pursuit to bring all the hostages back home and the defeat of Hamas. The groundbreaking Abraham Accords and the devastating October 7th attacks have forever changed the Middle East.

As US Special Envoy Witkoff has said, “we need to explore new policy prescriptions that ultimately end up in a better life for the Gazans and the Palestinians”.

“Look at the discourse that’s now happening today, she said. We’re actually engaging in a productive conversation around what is best for Gaza and how we can make people’s lives better. This administration will continue to engage our partners in the region on a serious solution for Gaza that secures peace and the release of all the hostages, among them five Americans, including Edan Alexander.

Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, who has written extensively on the politics of the UN, told IPS it is rather bizarre that State Department spokesperson Bruce would bring up Hamas, which is a rebel Palestinian group openly challenging the internationally-recognized government of the Palestine Authority (PA), in a question about recognition of the state of Palestine.

And the PA, he pointed out, had nothing to do with the October 7 terrorist attacks. It is revealing, however, that she emphasized the so-called Abraham Accords, which are designed to get Arab states to unilaterally recognize Israel instead of doing so in return for Israel ending the occupation and allowing for an independent Palestine, which has historically been the position of Arab governments.

Putting Bruce's bizarre response aside, however, the Trump administration's policy is not that different from that of the Biden administration. Biden, like Trump, opposed any recognition of Palestine by the United Nations or any member state.

One year ago, under Biden, the United States vetoed an otherwise-unanimous UN Security Council resolution recommending full membership for Palestine. It even claimed the International Criminal Court had no jurisdiction regarding war crimes committed from or on Palestinian territory because Palestine was not a state.

The United States has long insisted that the only way a Palestinian state should be recognized was under terms agreed to by the Israeli government, despite the fact that the Israeli government has categorically ruled out Palestinian statehood, declared Dr Zunes.

Mouin Rabbani, Co-Editor, Jadaliyya, an independent ezine produced by the Arab Studies Institute, told IPS France has indicated it intends to recognize Palestinian statehood at a UN conference it is jointly organising with Saudi Arabia in June. Whether it will actually do so remains an open question.

President Macron's various statements on the issue, he pointed out, are about as clear as dense fog. He has both emphasized the importance of recognition, but also tempered this with what appear to be various conditions, such as recognition of Israel by other Middle Eastern states and removal of Hamas from the Palestinian body politic.

He made these statements in the full knowledge neither is going to happen in response to a mere declaration of recognition by the French state.

Macron has identified a two-state settlement as the objective motivating his potential initiative. Yet it's somewhat difficult to take France's proclaimed endorsement of a two-state solution seriously when Paris recognizes only the Israeli state, and additionally has attached zero consequences to more than half a century of ceaseless Israeli efforts to make the prospect of a Palestinian state impossible, he noted.

“In 2025, words have become so utterly meaningless that even French recognition of Palestinian statehood, while welcome in principle, are tantamount to a diversionary charade if not accompanied by meaningful policy changes”.

Still, President Macron recently decided to permit indicted war criminal and international fugitive Binyamin Netanyahu to use French airspace to travel to the United States.

This of course has not stopped Netanyahu and his proxy in Florida, his son Yair, from lashing out at Macron, comparing him to the head of the Vichy collaborationist regime, Petain, and concluding with "screw you".

“The vulgarity is unlikely to produce a response, because Israel continues to enjoy unconditional impunity in Paris,” declared Rabbani, who is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs.

Dr Ramzy Baroud, a journalist and Editor of The Palestine Chronicle told IPS while the potential French recognition of Palestine is an interesting development, its significance at this juncture is arguably diminished.

Such a gesture, he said, would have carried considerable weight prior to the devastating Israeli genocide in Gaza. However, after seventeen months of relentless Israeli war crimes against Palestinians, supported by the United States, Western nations, including France, this recognition risks appearing largely symbolic, if not opportunistic.

“We have witnessed similar gestures recently, such as the recognitions by Norway, Spain, and Ireland in 2024. While these undoubtedly offered a morale boost to Palestinians, they did not translate into tangible improvements on the ground, nor did they alter the trajectory of US-Israeli policies impacting the Palestinian people”.

Furthermore, it's crucial to acknowledge that alongside France's historical support for Israel and its initial defense of their horrific actions in Gaza, there has been an alarming suppression of French activists within the Palestine solidarity movement.

A genuine shift towards a 'pro-Palestine' stance from the French government would necessitate fostering an environment where those advocating for Palestinian freedom and opposing the ongoing crisis can mobilize without fear.

This potential move by France could be interpreted as an attempt to deflect from its past and present positions, including indirectly blaming the Palestinian victims in Gaza for the violence they have endured with Western complicity, declared Dr Baroud, author of six books and a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). www.ramzybaroud.net

IPS UN Bureau Report