‘Ignorance of history’: Unease in France over Macron’s comments on Israel’s founding
Senior right-wing politician slams ‘ignorance of the history’; in interview with French outlet, Netanyahu accuses French president of ‘distressing distortion of history’ and ‘disrespect’
PARIS, France – Emmanuel Macron’s comments that Israel owes its existence to a UN resolution have sparked unease in France, with the president being rebuked by the upper house speaker but also facing disquiet from within his ranks.
The remarks attributed to Macron during a cabinet meeting Tuesday that Israel needed to adhere to UN resolutions in its campaigns in Lebanon and Gaza as it was created by the world body have angered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But there has also been a strong reaction within France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, with Jewish groups, political heavyweights and even Macron allies speaking out against the comments.
International affairs are one of the few remaining areas where Macron, who is attending an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, enjoys political leeway following this summer’s legislative elections which resulted in the centrist overseeing a distinctly right-wing government.
“It first of all shows an ignorance of the history of the birth of the State of Israel,” Gerard Larcher, the right-wing speaker of the upper house Senate, told Europe 1 radio. “Questioning the existence of Israel touches on fundamental questions for me,” he said.
“I was astounded that these remarks could be made,” he added, arguing that the creation of Israel “did not come as a notarial act merely validated by the UN.”
Larcher would take over the presidency if centrist Macron was incapacitated or suddenly resigned.
He is a senior figure in the right-wing Republicans (LR) party to which French Prime Minister Michel Barnier also belongs.
‘Distortion of history’
“Mr Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN,” Macron told the weekly French cabinet meeting.
The president was referring to the resolution adopted in November 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly on the plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.
“Therefore this is not the time to disregard the decisions of the UN,” he added, as concern grows over Israeli fire on UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. Israel has said that UNIFIL is not its target as it strives to dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure, and Netanyahu urged the peacekeeping force to withdraw from the area while the IDF was operating there.
Macron’s comments from the closed-door meeting at the Elysee Palace were quoted by two participants who spoke to AFP and asked not to be named.
In a blistering attack that is highly unusual from an establishment figure in France, Larcher questioned if Macron had taken account of the 1917 British Balfour Declaration, which supported the creation of a Jewish homeland, and even the Holocaust and its consequences.
Larcher added Macron had created “doubt” with his comments and while he “did not suspect him of anything, I say that Israel’s right to exist is neither debatable nor negotiable.”
Netanyahu has hit back at Macron, saying the country’s founding was achieved by the 1948 War of Independence, not a UN ruling.
He also said that among those who fought for Israel in 1948 were French Jews who had been sent to death camps after being rounded up by the collaborationist Vichy regime, which governed a large part of France during the Nazi occupation in World War II.
In an interview with France’s Le Figaro daily published Thursday, Netanyahu accused Macron of a “distressing distortion of history” and “disrespect.”
‘International rules’
Caroline Yadan, a lawmaker for Macron’s centrist party, said the comments attributed to the president were “unworthy.”
“Reducing Israel to a single UN decision is to deny the history of the Jewish people and its legitimate and historical connection to this land,” she wrote on X. “What does this statement imply? That what the UN has done, the UN can undo? Is this a warning?”
Parliamentary sources told AFP that Macron’s comments had sparked strong reactions within his own Renaissance party.
“There are some rather heated discussions,” prominent Renaissance MP Sylvain Maillard confirmed to AFP, saying about 10 deputies were in a messaging group on the issue.
A former minister, asking not to be named, added: “There have been monstrous arguments.”
Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon insisted on Thursday that Macron’s remarks needed to be looked at in their full context.
“He recalled the need for everyone to respect international rules. Israel must respect them,” she told Sud Radio.
She added Macron had been “at the side of Israel and the Israeli people for a year and since the terrorist attacks of October 7” when Palestinian terrorist group Hamas launched its attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken, that sparked the Gaza war.
Times of Israel contributed to this report.
