Under Macron, Israel-France Ties Remain Uncertain

French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pose together in Jerusalem in 2020 (Flickr)

French President Emmanuel Macron demanded the release of the hostages Hamas still holds on X on October 17, 2024 after Israel eliminated its leader, Yahya Sinwar. Macron reaffirmed France’s support for Israel and said that Israel’s security and existence were non-negotiable for the French people.

Yet, behind closed doors, Macron remains skeptical about Israeli action in the Middle East. According to Politico, he told his ministers that Israel should not “ignore United Nations decisions,” adding, “Mr. Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a U.N. decision.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed these comments, rebutting that Holocaust survivors founded Israel, including those who had escaped from the Nazi-collaborationist Vichy France, per Politico. 

The French-Jewish community and senior French political leaders from all aisles of French politics criticized Macron’s remarks, per The Times of Israel. 

France’s President of the Senate, Gerard Larcher said he was “astounded” by Macron’s “ignorance of the history of the birth of the State of Israel,” according to Al Monitor. 

Recent events show that under Macron, France has not been steadfast in its support for Israel, a traditional Western ally. Macron had called for an arms embargo on Israel, per Reuters, on October 11, 2024. Many, including Israeli PM Netanyahu, United Kingdom Defense Secretary John Healey, and Speaker of the French National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, bashed this decision, Politico reports. Netanyahu called it a “disgrace” and said that "Israel will win with or without [France]," according to Yahoo.

Later, France reaffirmed its commitment to Israeli security in a statement, expressing regret at Netanyahu’s “exaggerated” reply to the French decision, assuring that France would not allow Iran or its proxies to attack Israel.

Notably, France had also banned Israeli booths and equipment from the Euronaval Defense Show, writes Le Monde. This decision came in the background of Macron’s rant about civilian casualties in the Israel-Hamas and Israel-Hezbollah conflicts.

Macron has expressed support for a political solution to end the conflict in the Middle East. This, according to France, entails more than military force on Israel’s part, Reuters reported. French intervention in the war has stepped up after Lebanon’s ruling militia Hezbollah dragged the Lebanese people into the war, OneIndia indicates. While France has declared its support for Lebanese sovereignty, it has had to tread a fine line between reigning in Israeli aggression and supporting Iranian proxies.

Macron, in a video on X, called Iran out for providing fundamental support to terrorist groups in the region, but also explicitly supported Lebanese sovereignty. He unequivocally said that the cause of Middle Eastern escalation is Hezbollah, not Israel, and that Hezbollah bears responsibility for the violence. Macron and Netanyahu have engaged in a touchy battle of words, with the relationship between their countries facing unusual tremors, all while the war in the Middle East rages on.