On 25 October, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Cairo, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to discuss the current escalation between Israel and Palestinian factions in an effort to contain the fallout and prevent the conflict from spreading further. The current conflict has been escalating between Israeli and Palestinian factions since 7 October against the backdrop of Hamas and other Palestinian factions launching the Al-Aqsa Flood operation and the subsequent repercussions of the Israeli occupation forces launching Operation Iron Swords against the Gaza Strip.
President Macron visited Cairo as part of his foreign tour of the Middle East, which also included Israel, the West Bank city of Ramallah, and Jordan. The tour aimed to reduce the military escalation between the two sides of the conflict in preparation for a settlement of the Palestinian cause and to emphasize the importance of resuming the political process with the Palestinians. Macron engaged in talks with the leaders of the participating countries in the current crisis in order to prevent the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip from getting worse and to prevent the conflict from spreading to other fronts. This visit comes in tandem with the ongoing Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip, the rising toll of Palestinian casualties, and the UN Security Council’s inability to take a firm stance on the current escalation due to the state of international polarization and Western support for Israel’s right to self-defense.
Urgent Priorities
During the French President’s visit to Cairo, the two sides discussed a number of issues of mutual interest, especially in light of the current escalation in Gaza. These issues included the following:
Revitalizing the Political Process: With both parties recognizing the two-state solution as essential to maintaining peace and security in the region, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi blamed the lack of a political horizon for the escalation of tensions that led to the current conflict and the five previous rounds of fighting over the past two decades. Al-Sisi emphasized that Israel’s stated objective of defeating Hamas and other Palestinian factions will not be met by the ground invasion; rather, more civilian deaths will occur. Al-Sisi also made a connection between undermining the two-state solution and the elimination of the Palestinian cause by forcing Palestinians to relocate to Egyptian territory. For his part, Egyptian President Al-Sis praised his French counterpart’s grasp of the gravity of the situation. The French president, on the other hand, said that while the political component of the conflict is the most challenging, it is also the primary cause of the conflict. He emphasized that his nation will work to advance this path with all of its regional partners and that every effort must be made to reach a two-state solution.
The War on Terror: This dossier was a top priority for both parties, as was evidenced by President Al-Sisi’s remarks. Al-Sisi stated unequivocally that the only way to effectively combat terrorism is to find a solution for the Palestinian cause. He further stated that the idea of terrorism emerged in the Palestinian refugee camps as a result of the Palestinian people’s growing disillusionment with their lack of an independent state, as well as the destruction of holy sites and the growth of settlements. According to the French president, this file is crucial to the peace initiative he intends to develop in order to end the conflict. He has pushed for increased intelligence cooperation in this area to avoid the mistakes made by the Global Coalition against Daesh.
Hamas-Held Hostages: The French government, like all other foreign governments, is deeply concerned about the hostages’ situation, ostensibly because it involves safeguarding its citizens. This was confirmed by the French president in a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart. He also thanked Qatar and Egypt for their efforts in releasing the nearly 200 hostages, nine of whom are French. Speaking with his French counterpart, President Al-Sisi also reaffirmed the importance of freeing more hostages from the Gaza Strip, noting that the only way to do this would be to defuse the current crisis in Gaza.
Containment of the Conflict and Prevention of Its Regional Spillover: France has been working and coordinating with international actors to limit the current escalation because it fears that such an escalation in the Middle East region—which began with the outbreak of the Gaza war—will spread further. Paris has consistently warned Iran against participating in this war through its agents or directly in the ongoing conflict, and President Emmanuel Macron cautioned his Iranian counterpart, Ibrahim Raisi, over the phone on 15 October against any escalation or expansion of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, particularly in Lebanon. During his meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, the French President reiterated this warning, cautioning Iran and its allies—Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen—about the possibility of creating new fronts in the conflict and escalating it. This was also consistent with President Al-Sisi’s position, which emphasized that more cooperation is required to contain the situation rather than make it worse and that the current crisis cannot spread to involve other parties.
Humanitarian Aid and Rejection of Relocation Plans: This point was a top priority for both the Egyptian and French presidents. The French President emphasized the need for aid to reach the Palestinians, expressing gratitude to Egypt for its efforts in this regard as well as for defending the 54 French citizens living in Gaza as well as the 170 French nationals employed in various institutions there along with their families and advocating for their exit from Gaza. He explained that two French aircraft carrying aid would arrive in Egypt, in addition to his intention to dispatch a French navy ship to support hospitals in Gaza.
Numerous Motivators
The French response to the current escalation reflects Paris’ historical support for Israel’s right to self-defense under international law, along with its emphasis on the importance of the two-state solution and resuming the political process between the Palestinians in preparation for mitigating the consequences of the current situation. Several factors, including those listed below, inform France’s stance:
The Historical Position on Both Sides of the Conflict: While France led the way in recognizing the State of Israel, establishing diplomatic ties with it since 1949, and supporting Israel’s right to exist in safety, it also backed the creation of a Palestinian state that would coexist with Israel within internationally recognized borders, with Jerusalem serving as the capital of both entities. Additionally, in November 1974, Paris voted to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization as an observer at the United Nations, and in 1982, President François Mitterrand became the first French president to declare the goal of establishing a Palestinian state before the Knesset. In November 2012, Paris also voted in favor of Palestine’s admission to the UN as a non-member observer state. As such, France’s stance on the current crisis aligns with its historical perspective. While in Israel, Macron reaffirmed Israel’s right to self-defense and emphasized the need for a decisive revival of the political process between the Palestinians, saying: “The Palestinian cause must be listened to with reason. […] Tomorrow I will be with several leaders from the region to concretely advance the agenda we have given ourselves.”
International Law-Compliant Resolution of the Palestinian Cause: France backs efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in line with international law and UN resolutions, such as the two-state solution proposed in Resolution 181, a just resolution of the refugee problem as proposed in Resolution 194 by the UN General Assembly, implementation of Resolution 242 by the UN Security Council to end Israeli occupation, and maintaining Jerusalem’s status in compliance with Resolutions 476 and 478 of the UN Security Council. France therefore urges all parties involved in the conflict to reiterate their support for the two-state solution and the negotiated settlement and to desist from taking any unilateral actions that would make it harder to reach these goals. It condemns Israel’s growing settlement policy pursued by successive governments and calls on Israel to fully comply with international humanitarian law applied in the Palestinian territories. In the context of the recent war on Gaza, President Macron has emphasized the need to respect international humanitarian law in any Israeli confrontation or movement within Gaza. He has also emphasised the importance of bringing in humanitarian aid and not closing the Rafah crossing to that aid.
Humanitarian Situation Worsening: In order to guarantee the sustained delivery of aid, France is working to contain the current escalation in advance of a ceasefire. In her address to the National Assembly, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne advocated for a “humanitarian truce that could lead to a ceasefire”. Borne connected France’s support of the Brazilian draft resolution in the UN Security Council, which contained a clause addressing a humanitarian ceasefire for the purpose of delivering aid, to this objective. At the same time as Macron’s tour, the French Foreign Minister confirmed this trend in the Security Council on October 24, saying that France, along with the European Union, had increased the amount of aid it was providing to Gaza Strip residents by approximately €20 million. This aid was given to UNRWA, the World Food Organization, the World Food Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and non-governmental organizations. Borne further stated that, in support of Egypt’s efforts, France arranged a special flight to deliver 54 tonnes of emergency humanitarian aid for the Palestinians in Gaza and that, by 2023, the total amount of her country’s aid to the Palestinians will reach €100 million.
Guaranteeing Hostage Release: The French president’s efforts to improve coordination and cooperation with active forces in the region in order to resolve the current conflict are primarily motivated by France’s high priority for the release of the prisoners held by Hamas. Macron mentioned this during his meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, stating that France stands “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel and that the first objective should be the release of hostages in Gaza. In the framework of his support for resolving this issue, Macron, following his arrival in Tel Aviv, met with the families of the deceased Frenchmen and the families of the French-Israelis who were killed or kidnapped, numbering approximately 30 French nationals at least, which represents a large number for France.
Concern about Terrorist Attacks: During his tour of the region, the French President made remarks about fighting terrorism. This was motivated by France’s fear of seeing a new wave of terrorist attacks in light of the events of 2015, particularly after one of its citizens was exposed to a stabbing incident in the northern city of Arras, which led to the declaration of a state of high alert to combat terrorism after the war in Gaza broke out. Back then, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin stated that there was no question about the connection between the Hamas-Israel dispute and the Arras attack. Notably, that attack occurred almost three days following the third anniversary of teacher’s beheading in Paris in 2020 for displaying cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his students during a class period.
Reducing Political Polarization: Given the differing opinions on the current escalation, the French government might be concerned that the war in Gaza will further exacerbate political division and disparities in the country. While the French government condemned the Hamas attack and supported Israel’s right to self-defense, the extreme leftist party La France Insoumise refrained from describing the attack as “terrorist”, and its president, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, accused the Speaker of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, of camping in Tel Aviv to encourage the massacre in Gaza, in reference to her 22 October visit to Israel. The far-right National Rally Party, on the other hand, denounced the attack. This comes as parties look to take advantage of the current escalation in a way that serves their interests and broadens their base of support.
Concern for Social Division: Given that France hosts the largest Jewish community in Europe and the third largest in the world, after Israel and the United States of America, along with the largest Muslim community in Europe, developments in the current situation in the region could potentially have an impact on French society. This could provide justification for the French Interior Minister’s decision to outlaw all pro-Palestinian protests and use water and tear gas to scatter the protesters. In light of this, President Macron urged the French people to stand together and support the Palestinian cause in his speech on 12 October, saying: “Those who confuse the Palestinian cause with the justification of terrorism are committing a triple error: moral, political, and strategic.”
To sum up, President Emmanuel Macron’s tour of the region in response to the Gaza War reflected France’s desire to play a key role in supporting and stabilizing the security of Israel, Paris’s historical ally and an essential component of its larger approach to the Middle East region, which has become a battlefield for competition between international and regional powers that seek to reposition in it in a way that serves their interests. In light of the UN Security Council’s inability to resolve the current situation in Gaza through repeated rounds of discussions, it is anticipated that proponents of the Palestinian cause will attempt to coordinate regional and international initiatives aimed at revitalizing the peace process in the region, which is based on a two-state solution to the conflict.
