2023-11-15 03:02:39
The French diplomatic apparatus no longer hides its unease. Emmanuel Macron’s positioning in the war between Israel and Hamas arouses incomprehension and annoyance among some diplomats. To the point that around ten of them, according to information from Figarosent a joint note to the Quai d’Orsay and the Élysée, in which they regret the pro-Israeli turn of the Head of State since the Hamas massacres in Israel on October 7.
According to former diplomats contacted by our colleagues, this is an “unprecedented collective approach on the part of French ambassadors in the Middle East”, and in certain Maghreb countries. In the note, these dissidents “affirm that our position in favor of Israel at the start of the crisis is misunderstood in the Middle East and that it is at odds with our traditionally balanced position between Israelis and Palestinians,” indicates a diplomat in the columns of Figaro.
This position leads to a “serious” crisis of confidence between France and the Middle East which risks being “long-lasting”, warn the authors of the note. And it has immediate consequences: since the start of the war, certain French ambassadors no longer have access to decision-making circles in the countries where they are stationed. One of them received death threats and everyone is worried about a loss of credibility for France. Several demonstrations took place in front of the French embassies in Tunis (Tunisia), Tehran (Iran) and Beirut (Lebanon).
A “confusion in the French position”
Questioned on this subject Tuesday morning on France Inter, government spokesperson Olivier Véran defended France’s “influence”, which it uses “wisely”. “Few heads of state are capable of having direct contact with their most influential counterparts to act on this conflict, of bringing together so many heads of state in their capital to identify humanitarian aid (the humanitarian conference for Gaza in Paris, editor’s note) and it has not changed since the first day,” argues Olivier Véran.
However, Emmanuel Macron seems to have heard the message. In an interview with the BBC broadcast last Friday, the president criticized with unprecedented severity Israeli strikes against the civilian population of Gaza. A repositioning which the rebels would have welcomed.
VIDEO. Macron urges Israel to stop killing ‘women and babies’ in Gaza
“He realized that he had to recalibrate his speech,” comments the journalist from Le Figaro, Georges Malbrunot, on CNews. At the same time, he is right today to be concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but this creates confusion in the French position. I feel like he’s going to lose on all sides. »
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