Macron: France to recognize Palestine as a state
French President Emmanuel Macron said he will formalize the decision at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France will recognize Palestine as a state, ending months of speculation and adding to the list of European countries that have made such a move.
Macron said in a post on X that he will make the announcement at the United Nations General Assembly in September. He said the move is in line with France’s “commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” and he demanded a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages from the enclave, the delivery of aid to people there and the “demilitarization” of Hamas.
Fidèle à son engagement historique pour une paix juste et durable au Proche-Orient, j’ai décidé que la France reconnaîtra l’État de Palestine.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 24, 2025
J’en ferai l’annonce solennelle à l’Assemblée générale des Nations unies, au mois de septembre prochain.… pic.twitter.com/7yQLkqoFWC
The French leader said a Palestinian state should be demilitarized and recognize Israel.
“It is essential to build the State of Palestine, ensure its viability, and enable it, by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, to contribute to the security of all in the Middle East,” he said in the post.
Background: Macron has expressed a desire to recognize a Palestinian state in recent months. France planned to host alongside Saudi Arabia a conference on Palestinian statehood in June, but the event was postponed due to the outbreak of the Israel-Iran war. The conference is now expected to take place Monday and Tuesday at the United Nations. The United States said on Thursday it will not participate.
Al-Monitor reported last week that Palestinian officials expect financial pledges as well as punitive measures against Israel to be made at the conference. Saudi Arabia has said it will not recognize Israel without a path to a Palestinian state.
Several European countries have recognized a Palestinian state since the Gaza war, with Slovenia, Spain, the Republic of Ireland and Norway doing so in the spring of 2024. Others, such as Iceland and Sweden, took such a step in 2011 and 2014, respectively. France is, however, the most prominent and powerful European country to do so. It is also the only country in the G7 to make the move.
Macron’s announcement comes as Israel and the United States recalled their negotiators from Doha on Thursday amid faltering ceasefire and hostage talks with Hamas. Humanitarian agencies have warned of starvation in Gaza in recent days. Earlier on Thursday, Macron hosted Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris.
In June, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent Macron a letter in which he called for the demilitarization of Hamas and the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza. Abbas also condemned Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel for the first time in the letter.
Reactions: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Macron’s announcement in a post on X.
“We strongly condemn President Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the October 7 massacre. Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became,” said Netanyahu.
The Israeli premier said a Palestinian state under such conditions would become a “launch pad to annihilate Israel” and accused Palestinians of seeking a state “instead of Israel” rather than one alongside it.
We express our thanks and appreciation to His Excellency President Emmanuel Macron for his letter addressed to His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas, in which he reaffirmed France's steadfast position and confirmed his country's intention to recognize the State of Palestine in… https://t.co/Jio2cvWtVm
— حسين الشيخ Hussein Al Sheikh (@HusseinSheikhpl) July 24, 2025
This developing story has been updated.
