Indian Council of World Affairs

Introduction

The paper intends to explore the changing pattern of French diplomacy towards-Israel-Gaza conflict since its outbreak in October 2023.The paper will also examine French own efforts for ceasefire in Gaza and how France successfully hosted a series of conferences to mobilise funds for people of Gaza and Lebanon too after Israel expanded its military operation in Lebanon. The paper will also look into various internal and externa; factors, forcing France to gradually changes its stance towards Israel-Gaza conflict which is an indicative of a major departure from its policy adopted at the beginning of Israeli military operation in Gaza.

Despite having been more than a year since Hamas killed about 1200 people (Israelis and foreign nationals) and kidnapped about 250 people, which led to the subsequent inevitable retaliation by the Israeli forces, rendering around 45,000 people dead and turning most of the Gazan habitation into a mound of debris, peace still appears to be a mirage and a distant reality. Soon after the ghastly act of Hamas, most of the countries condemned the act and defended the disproportionate Israeli military response under the guise of the Israel’s right to self-defence. Most world leaders, including three heads of P-5 (the US, the UK and France), visited Israel as a mark of sympathy and pledged full diplomatic and strategic support to Israel. The French President, Emmanuel Macron, was the first to call for retooling the anti-ISIS coalition to confront Hamas, but did not receive global support.[i] In his latest expression of sympathy for Israel, President Macron, during his address to the Moroccan Parliament, termed the Hamas as barbaric and held them responsible for the October 7 mayhem.[ii] But in the same address, he stated that nothing could justify such a huge mound of dead bodies in Gaza. This statement of Macron, calling Hamas a barbaric group, triggered an uproar among the opposition groups, including the Islamists and the civil society groups in Morocco.[iii] The chief of the Moroccan Islamist party, Benkirane, in an open letter to President Macron, said that citing the Hamas action as barbaric amounts to being a crime partner of Israel. Meanwhile, the Moroccan Observatory against Normalization said that the statement of President Macron reminds one of the French colonial and imperialist days when they wreaked brutalities in the larger part of Africa. 

As the war progressed, the toll in Gaza continued rising and the shadow of Gaza began to crossover its territorial confines, some signs of diplomatic and political shift began to be noticed among many countries, including France. Unlike its earlier unwavering support for Israel, the French government began expressing its concerns over the increasing deaths of children and women, and the shift could be attributed to global criticism of Israeli action and growing street opposition within France as well. Over the past year, France has almost supported each UN and UNSC resolution calling for a ceasefire or cessation of war in Gaza.  and President Macron himself has taken initiatives to assuage the crisis. His past statements are not confined to only a call for a ceasefire; he recently demanded an arms embargo against Israel as the only means to end the war. France also offered humanitarian and medical aid to the people of Gaza and was opposed to any military move in Lebanon. In light of the above, this paper will explore the changing pattern of French diplomacy over the years since the outbreak of the Gaza war. The paper will look into the political and strategic dimensions of the changing diplomatic posture of President Macron and why France is so particular about stopping the war in Lebanon. 

A Year of the Israel-Gaza War: An Overview of French Diplomatic Actions

If one looks into the year-long diplomacy exercised by different countries on the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, one would notice a series of visible and invisible moderations or variations in the diplomatic stances of respective countries. The countries, which had initially blamed Hamas for October 7 attack and joined the chorus of Israel’s right to self-defence, gradually seemed to have modified their policy. Today many are critical of Israel’s disregard for the deaths of children and women, its political stubbornness and not heeding the global call against the expansion of war. The same holds for France, which also seems to have gradually changed its political and diplomatic descriptions vis-à-vis Israel’s military actions. 

President Macron, during his solidarity visit to Israel (October 24, 2023), had called for the formation of an international anti-Hamas coalition. He also emphasised that France and Israel consider terrorism a common enemy, as the victims of October 7 also included 42 French citizens. Soon after the incident, Macron made a national address, expressing his unbounded solidarity with Israel.[iv] France was among the few European countries to ban pro-Palestine protests in the country, fearing backlash from the Jewish community, but later the ban was withdrawn after France’s top court ruled against it.[v] It is worth mentioning here that France soon after the October 7 attack  announced that anyone expressing support for Hamas or Islamic Jihad will be sent to jail for five years. French Defence Minister said that, “anyone who publicly supports the Hamas or Islamic Jihad movements will face a five-year prison sentence.[vi]

But like others, France too, within a month of war, began expressing its displeasure over the targeting of civilians in Gaza. The first major act of solidarity came in the form of holding a humanitarian conference in Paris for Gaza and subsequent support for voices calling for a ceasefire. In November 2023 interview with the BBC, President Macron said that babies, ladies and people are being killed, and there is no reason for that and no legitimacy.[vii]

Within a month after the eruption of the Gaza War, France, along with the Netherlands and Britain, drew a comprehensive plan (31 October 2023) to send aid to Gaza to alleviate  the plight of people and ease the pressure on those trapped in the crossfire of war between the Hamas and Israeli defence forces. Further, France voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution (October 27 2023) calling for an immediate ceasefire and carrying aid to Gaza. In December 2023, UNGA passed a non-binding symbolic resolution calling for immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, which too was endorsed by France.[viii]

In February 2024, France supported an Algerian motion in the UNSC, demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, which was blocked by the US. France had then expressed its displeasure that a resolution could not be adopted despite the catastrophic situation on the ground.[ix] Next month, in March, the Times of Israel reported that France was preparing a draft resolution to be presented before the UNSC for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and recognition of the state of Palestine,[x] but later, one did not hear about its fate. 

On 9 April 2024, the French Presidential office, Elysee, along with Egypt and Jordan, issued a joint statement calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages under UN resolution 2728.[xi] The joint statement called for the release of Israeli hostages and also asked Iran and its allies to refrain from military actions.[xii]Again in August 2024, France, along with Germany and Britain, in a joint statement, endorsed the mediation efforts of the US, Egypt and Qatar. 

Another Algeria-backed resolution (April 18 2024) demanding admission of the state of Palestine into the UN was supported by France.[xiii] In May, France voted in favour of a draft resolution conferring new rights to the observer state of Palestine within the UN. In the same month, following the expansion of Israeli military operations across Rafah and rising tolls, France called the UNSC to adopt a fresh resolution, seeking cessation of war in Gaza.[xiv]

President Macron, during the 79^th session of UNGA, emphasised that Israel had all rights to self-defence against Hamas, but the war in Gaza has gone on for too long.[xv]He further added that there was no justification for the killing of thousands of civilians.Similarly, France was among the few Israeli allies that voted in favour of the UN resolution (18 September 2024), calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank within a year.[xvi] This non-binding resolution was introduced by Palestine, which was based on the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Throughout the year, French actions were not only confined to the diplomatic sphere at the UN and other forums, it also extended aid to the people of Gaza through various means. The French government, in November 2023, dispatched a helicopter carrier-turned-hospital ship (Dixmude)[xvii], which was primarily meant to help overburdened Gaza hospitals and treat sick and injured Palestinians, and in case of emergency, to carry them to Egypt as well.[xviii] In the same month, France sent 54 tonnes of medicine for injured people in Gaza, and President Macron also promised to treat 50 injured people from Gaza in hospitals based in France. 

President Macron also reportedly asked Israel for making conscious distinction between terrorists and population during its military operation in Gaza. Speaking to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he condemned the rising incidents of violence in the West Bank and termed it a politics of terror.[xix] According to a report in Financial Times, French President Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had earlier proposed this sea-delivered aid during their separate visit to Israel and later, the mission was also joined by the erstwhile British Prime Minister Sunak when the latter held talk with President Macron.[xx]

Amidst the growing talks of the future of Gaza and governance mechanisms, one French official statement, as reported in Arabic media, said that Israel had no right to determine who would rule Gaza in the future. It added that Gaza should be part of a future Palestinian state.[xxi]

This major departure or shift in the French policy towards the Israel-Gaza war could be attributed to the global hue and cry as the death toll began to rise along with the domestic criticism of the French policy. There are reports, cited by a French media house, Le Figaro, that dozens of French diplomats serving in the Arab world soon after the beginning of the war signed a joint memorandum and sent it to the French foreign ministry, accusing the government of open biases in favour of Israel. This act on the part of diplomats was called a diplomatic rebellion that was seen as an unprecedented act in the diplomatic history of France.[xxii] Many commentators and experts on French foreign policy attribute the major shift in French policy to the protests by these dissident diplomats. 

The gradual changes in Macron’s policy could also be attributed to his act of political balancing, given the significant number of Jews and Muslims in his country and the deep divide between them. In a rally held in a suburb of France, Macron said that France is making endeavours to end the Gaza carnage but lamented the fact that they (France) are not there to do more. One of the lawmakers from Macron’s Renaissance party said, “We are the only ones who talk to everybody. We talk to Iran and we talk to people we do not agree with.”[xxiii]  

Macron’s Call for a Weapons Embargo and Israeli Backlash 

Amidst growing criticism of countries like the US, the UK and Germany, against the supply of advanced weapons to Israel, the French President, for the first time on 5 October 2024, called upon the US and the EU countries to halt arms deliveries to Israel as the only way to stop the war. In an interview with French radio show Etcetera, Macron said that it is the need of the hour to return to a political solution and stop delivering weapons.[xxiv] At the end of the Francophonie Summit on 5 October 2024, he again called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.[xxv] Macron also stated that France was not delivering any weapons to Israel [xxvi] and remarked that the conflict in Gaza was leading to a new level of hatred.[xxvii] It is worth mentioning here that France is only supplying the devices related to Iron Dome, as per some Western media reports.[xxviii] Recently, the French defence ministry denied an allegation that France was supplying the components for ammunition used by the Israeli forces in its Gaza campaign.[xxix] It is worth recalling that in 2023, it exported arms to Israel worth $23 million, which constitutes merely 0.2% of the total French arm exports.[xxx] Earlier in May this year, the US halted a shipment of ammunition to Israel, and in September, the UK suspended thirty arm export license to Israel, claiming that these supplies could amount to a violation of international humanitarian law. Again, during the 11^th session of the Med9 Summit held in Cyprus on October 11, 2024, Macron called to halt the export of weapons to Israel, but added that this is in no way a call to disarm Israel, but to stop instability in this part of the world.[xxxi] He said, “I think we are not being heard which is a mistake and the hatred is being fed by what is happening in this war.”[xxxii] It can also be mentioned here that French government had banned the participation of Israeli firm in its Eurosatory[xxxiii] arms and defence industry exhibition, held in Paris in Jume 2024 in France.[xxxiv]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took no time in launching a fierce attack against President Macron’s embargo remarks. Netanyahu said that his country would win the war without their support. He further added that any call for an arms embargo was a statement of a shame that will continue to resonate in France for a long time after Israel’s victory against the evil forces. He also said that civilised countries should stand by Israel.[xxxv] On his part, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz (currently defence minister) recalled that the late French President de Gaulle had too imposed an arms restriction against Israel during the Arab-Israel 1967 war, and Israel had then won the war and would win again.[xxxvi]

After a volley of attacks against Macron from Israeli officials, Macron retracted and asked the Elysee Palace spokesperson to intervene to mend the damage and indirectly take the statement back.[xxxvii] The Elysee Palace statement stressed that France is unwavering friend of Israel and added Netanyahu’s words of criticism are exaggerated, and this has nothing to do with the friendship between Israel and France.[xxxviii] The statement from Elysee Palace also added that France had mobilised its military during the Iran missile attack against Israel in April.[xxxix] President Macron and Netanyahu held a telephonic conversation and acknowledged their differences of opinion and the desire to be well-understood by each other. 

This embargo statement of Macron came only two days before the first anniversary of the October 7 attack, which was significantly reflective of French domestic politics where the Prime Minister and the President differ on Gaza. Macron’s statement was also aimed at assuaging the street anger and placating the French civil society members, who have been critical of the Gaza war since its inception. It can be mentioned here that the far-right parties in France turned the Gaza war and Hamas attack into one of their central campaign themes in the June EU elections[xl] as the far-right candidates swung staunchly behind Israel. 

The Israel-Hezbollah War and the French Dilemma 

Soon after Israel launched a full-fledged air operation in southern Lebanon on 23 October 2024, France warned against turning Lebanon into another Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire. Israel launched its massive aerial military campaign against Lebanon, particularly against the Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon, amidst the year-long cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah. The ongoing Israeli air and ground attacks in southern and eastern Lebanon have killed 2500 civilians and displaced around 1.4 million, including 500,000 children, since Israel began its military operation in the last week of September 2024.[xli]

President Macron was also amongst the first few world leaders to criticise Israeli ground incursions in Lebanon.[xlii] In an official statement, he said for the sake of victory against Hezbollah, the people of Lebanon cannot be scarified and called for an end to the lingering political instability by holding a fresh election in the country.[xliii].

Since the conflict in Lebanon escalated, France has intensified its efforts to de-escalate the situation. Just two days after the killing of Hasan Nasrullah (29 September 2024), the newly appointed Foreign Minister of France, Jean-Noel Barrot, visited Lebanon. This was the first official visit by any Western country following the demise of the Hezbollah chief. In a press conference, Barrot said that his visit had three primary goals: expressing solidarity with the people of Lebanon, committing support to French people and stopping the escalation of violence.[xliv] He asked the warring sides to accept the France-US-proposed 21-day ceasefire plan.[xlv]He also met the Lebanese interim Prime Minister and asked Israel to refrain from ground incursions in Lebanon.[xlvi]

A week before the visit of his foreign minister, President Macron himself had directly addressed the people of Lebanon through the video conferencing and had said that Lebanon is struck by fear and grief. In the early days of the Israel-Hezbollah direct military confrontation, France had delivered 12 tonnes of medicines, medical equipment and aid worth 10 million euros.[xlvii]

Following incidents of attacks against UN peacekeepers, President Macron warned Israel, and during the Summit of EU member states, he said that attacks against the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the future would be intolerable.[xlviii] It can be recalled that Israeli forces on 10 October 2024 had injured two members of UNIFIL in an attack against an observer post of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon. 

Soon after the beginning of the ground operation, France moved its naval ship as a precautionary measure to evacuate its citizens.[xlix] Macron insisted on the urgent need to act and prevent the situation from worsening . In a recently held Union of the Mediterranean Organization meeting, French Defence Minister, Sebastien Lecornu warned against the growing prospect of an imminent civil war in Lebanon, which could paralyse the Arab world.[l] He further said that the Israeli army, like the army of democratic countries, must respect international law.[li]

France has a deep economic and strategic interest in Lebanon. Today, French TotalEnergies, one of the biggest energy and petroleum enterprises in the world, is involved in drilling offshore gas fields in Lebanon[lii] and hence, any kind of escalation would hamper the French economic interest. About 23,000 French live in Lebanon, 300,000 Lebanese live in France and the majority of French in Lebanon are engaged in small and big enterprises. The linkage between the two can be gauged from the fact that when Lebanon was struck by a deadly explosion in 2020, Macron was not only the first European leader to visit Lebanon, but also pledged 30 million euros, and at the behest of France, the international community too committed 250 million euros as an assistance package for the crisis-ridden Lebanon.[liii] Further France does not want to give any leverage or strategic depth to Iran or Saudi Arabia to determine the diplomatic and strategic trajectories of the country. 

France’s Own Diplomatic Initiatives Amidst Expanding War in the Region

Amidst the peak of ceasefire efforts by the UN and the countries, such as the US, Qatar, Egypt, President Macron hosted a humanitarian conference on 9 November 2023 in Paris to provide more humanitarian aid for Gazans.[liv] President Macron opened the conference with an appeal to protect civilians in Gaza and said that all lives have equal worth.[lv] The conference was organised on the sidelines of the annual Paris Peace Forum and was attended by officials and organisations from 80 countries, including the UN. In that maiden conference hosted by France, a month after the 7 October attack, Macron called for a humanitarian pause in Gaza and said that protection from civilian death is non-negotiable.[lvi] France, then, had announced to enhance earlier announced aid worth 20 million euros to 100 million euros,[lvii] and the total amount pledged in the conference exceeded 1 billion euros.[lviii] The core objective of the conference, amongst other objectives, was to assuage street anger against the Israeli asymmetric war in Gaza. In several earlier protests, the left parties in France had levelled severe criticism against President Macron for covering the crime of Israelis under the guise of self-defence. The left parties in France enjoy significant support among the Muslims, who constitute about 10% of the total population there. It is worth mentioning that the left parties in France condemned Hamas for October 7 but refused to call Hamas as a terrorist outfit. 

France also hosted a meeting of intelligence chiefs from the US and Egypt, and the Prime Minister of Qatar in January this year under the Paris Framework.[lix] But the meeting failed to yield positive outcomes because of the deep divide between the Hamas and Israel. 

In its latest effort to stop the ongoing war in Lebanon and help the victims, France hosted another conference, “International Conference on Lebanon,” on 24 October 2024, attended by 70 countries and 15 NGOs. The conference, apart from raising $1 billion to assist the Lebanese, also urged Israel to heed the global call for a ceasefire and cooperate with the international diplomatic efforts.[lx] At the end of the conference, the French Foreign Minister said that the meeting was able to raise the donation worth $1 billion, in which France offered $100 million while the US promised $300 million, and countries like Germany and Italy also supported the fund-raising efforts . The amount seems little in light of the recent US statement seeking immediate aid worth $342 billion to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.[lxi] The French Foreign Minister also informed that out of a total of $1 billion, the $800 million would be spent on assisting the displaced people of Lebanon by providing them shelters, education and healthcare, while the rest of the amount would be spent on upgrading the Lebanese military arsenal and inducting more people in the national army, which has a current strength of 80,000 while the Hezbollah has around 100,000 fighters.[lxii] The conference also discussed the mechanism to provide protection to 10,500 UNIFIL personnel in the wake of the expanding orbit of Israeli military actions. 

Conclusion 

It can be summed up that there has been a stark transformation in the French policy towards Israel since the eruption of the war. This transformation is well exemplified in its call for the formation of an anti-ISIS-like alliance to confront the Hamas in the early days of war and just around the first anniversary of the October 7 attack, the same France called for an arms embargo against Israel as the only means to end the war. 

It is not only France that has modified its policy towards Israel in recent months, many other countries have done the same by calling for more humanitarian aid for war-torn Gaza. But France, unlike others, has parallelly continued to toughen its diplomatic and political stance against Israel since the inception of the war. It was the first country to call for the formation of an anti-ISIS-like coalition to confront Hamas and was also the first country in the world to call for an arms embargo against Israel to stop the war. It has repeatedly called for ceasefire and restraint on Israeli side. French President Macron has levelled the harshest criticism against Israel seen from any G-7 leaders. 

The Gaza issue was taken to the UN/UNSC soon after the escalation of violence in Gaza. France has endorsed early UNSC/UN resolutions, calling for a ceasefire or enhancement of aid to Gaza or cessation of war or induction of Palestine into the UN or ending the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank within the year. The country also took its own exclusive initiative to stop the war and raise the donation of war-torn Gaza and Lebanon by hosting two big humanitarian conferences which ended up in pledging US $ 1 billion each . 

These changes on the part of France can be attributed to a set of internal and external factors and are best understood as a strategic balancing act. Externally, France was forced to moderate its pro-Israel biasedness because of the global hue and cry over rising civilian toll in Gaza, and internally it was equally subjected to growing street anger against the government of the day as well as from within the government which was quite explicit when many diplomats expressed their concerns over French partisan attitude towards Israel. President Macron also seemed fearful of the manipulation of Gaza bloodshed for electoral benefit by far-left parties in the country. And it is a known fact that left parties in France are quite popular amongst Muslims. 

France is home to the largest number of Jews and Muslims on the European continent, and the fear of a growing divide or violence between the two communities may also have driven President Macron to reshape his policy. It was not merely humanitarian concerns that made President Macron revisit his strategy. It could reflect Macron’s desire to play a greater role on the global stage. It is worth recalling here that soon after the outbreak of the Gaza war, President Macron embarked on a regional tour and visited Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt. 

This criticism of Israel could also be inextricably linked to France’s long-term aspiration to punch above its weight on the world stage and an effort to come out of the US’ strategic umbrella. The French policy cannot be hostage to the dictates of the US or other powers in the EU forever, and moreover strategic autonomy from the US has been an agenda of President Macron’s politics. Despite the growing French criticism of Israeli policy in the region, one should not expect that ongoing political contestation or blame game would help change the trajectory of the Israel -Gaza war or have any bearing on the decades-long US-Israel interdependent relationship.

*****

*Dr. Fazzur Rahman Siddiqui, Senior Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal. 

Endnotes

[i] Clea Caulcutt, Macron’s Explosive Home front in the Gaza war, Politico, April 13, 2024, Accessed https://encr.pw/v0Ndp October 30, 2024.

[ii] Opposition groups in Morocco condemns Macron’s remarks about Hamas, Rail Youm (Arabic Daily) October 30 2024, Accessed https://shorturl.at/qzc42 November 1, 2024.

[iii] Opposition groups in Morocco condemns Macron’s remarks about Hamas https://shorturl.at/qzc42. 

[iv] Macron’s Explosive Home front in the Gaza war, Politico https://encr.pw/v0Ndp.

[v] Macron’s Explosive Home front in the Gaza war, Politico https://encr.pw/v0Ndp.  

[vi] Mustapha Dalaa, What is behind Macron’s Humanitarian Conference, Andalucia Arabia, November 11, 2023, Accessed https://l1nq.com/qhuBV October 25, 2024.

[vii] Michel Barbero, Macron Breaks Ranks with the West on Israel-Hamas War, Foreign Policy, November 17 2023,Accessed   https://l1nq.com/T2drG November 12 2024.   

[viii] UNGA demands ceasefire in Gaza: How your country voted, Aljazeera (Arabic) December 13, 2023, Accessed, https://l1nq.com/Pclyz October 27, 2024.

[ix] UNGA demands ceasefire in Israel’s War on Gaza, Aljazeera, December 13 2023, Accessed https://encr.pw/Pclyz October 24, 2024.

[ix] Elodie Forge, Maintaining Balance: Why France Supported UN Vote to End Israeli Occupation, Middle East Eye, September 19 2024, Accessed https://l1nq.com/0n4tl October 20, 2024.

[x] France said to be working on UNSC resolution, The Times of Israel, March 28, 2024, Accessed https://l1nq.com/AHRIx October 30, 2024.

[xi] Press release, Elysee, Egypt, France and Jordan: Ceasefire now in Gaza, April 9 2024, Accessed https://encr.pw/gI3S4 October 29, 2024.

[xii] Israel -Hamas War Latest, Associated Press, August 13, 2024, Accessed https://encr.pw/jn1c2 October 23, 2024.

[xiii] UN (Arabic): All you want to know who vote how for Palestinian membership in UN, May 12, 2024, Accessed https://encr.pw/ab1or October 31, 2024.

[xiv] France asks UNSC to adopt fresh resolution on Gaza, Aljazeera (Arabic), May 28, 2024, Accessed https://l1nq.com/oBYPZ November 4, 2024.

[xv] Israeli Foreign Minister Reacts to Sacro’s remark, Sky News (Arabic), October 5, 2024, Accessed https://encr.pw/uA9ST October 10, 2024.

[xvi] Elodie Forge, Maintaining Balance, Middle East Eye, https://l1nq.com/0n4tl.

[xvii] Gaza Hospital Crisis: French warship treats wounded Palestinian children, Politico, January 22, 2024, Accessed https://l1nq.com/KBtd4 October 12, 2024.

[xviii] Macron’s Explosive Home front in the Gaza war, Politico https://encr.pw/v0Ndp.

[xix] Macron to Netanyahu: Civilian Casualties are too high, Al-Bayan (Arabic), November 20, 2023, Accessed https://l1nq.com/RZ99j October 30, 2024.

[xx] France, UK, Netherland plan Gaza aid, China Daily, November 2, 2023, Accessed https://l1nq.com/Z09ce  October 22, 2024.

[xxi] France: Israel has no right to decide future of Gaza, Sky News (Arabic), November 16, 2023, Accessed   https://l1nq.com/q56Fh October 12, 2024.

[xxii] French Shift: Why country decided to criticise Israel, Aljazeera (Arabic), December 5, 2023, Accessed  https://l1nq.com/YbQEU November 1, 2024.

[xxiii] Macron’s Explosive Home front in the Gaza war, Politico https://encr.pw/v0Ndp  

[xxiv] Macron calls to stop sending weapons to Israel, The Times of Israel, October 5, 2024, Accessed https://encr.pw/twUEV November 4, 2024.

[xxv] France’s Macron calls to end arm deliveries to Israel, The Hill, October 5, 2024, Accessed https://encr.pw/6Ot98 November 3, 2024.

[xxvi] France’s Macron calls to end arm deliveries to Israel, The Hill, October 5, 2024, Accessed https://encr.pw/6Ot98. 

[xxvii] Macron calls to halt arm deliveries to Israel, BBC (English), October 6, 2024, Accessed   https://l1nq.com/YOOYJ November 1 2024.

[xxviii] https://acesse.dev/v5t0C.

[xxix] France denies report of supplying weapons to Israel, Le Monde, March 26, 2024, Accessed https://l1nq.com/y1LIW November 1, 2024.

[xxx] Macron: Stopping weapons sullied only way to end war in Gaza and Lebanon, Al-Sharq (Arabic), October 12 2024, Accessed https://l1nq.com/YVope November 4, 2024.

[xxxi]Macron: Stopping weapons sullied only way to end war, https://l1nq.com/YVope.  

[xxxii] Macron: Stopping weapons sullied only way to end war, https://l1nq.com/YVope.

[xxxiii] It is a global event for security and defence professionals, founded in 1967 and its exhibition is heled every two years in Paris.

[xxxiv] France  bans Israeli firm form participating in its arm exhibition, France 24, May 31 2024, Accessed  https://l1nq.com/rSXk4

[xxxv] Macron calls to halt arm deliveries to Israel, BBC (English) https://l1nq.com/YOOYJ.

[xxxvi] Israeli Foreign Ministry reacts to Macron’s remarks, Sky News (Arabic), October 5, 2024, Accessed  https://encr.pw/uA9ST November 1, 2024.

[xxxvii] Netanyahu attacks Macron, Rail Youm, October 7, 2024, Accessed https://l1nq.com/TJuYH November 5, 2024.

[xxxviii] https://acesse.dev/SJ1ej

[xxxix] Macron’s office says France is Israel’s steadfast friend, The Time of Israel, October 6, 2024, Accessed   https://encr.pw/enqhH November 1, 2024.

[xl] Clea Caulcutt, Macron’s Explosive Home front in the Gaza war, Politico, https://encr.pw/v0Ndp.

[xli] Macron says France not to tolerate attack against UNIFIL, Middle East Monitor, October 11, 2024, Accessed  https://encr.pw/GXoSV November 1, 2024.

[xlii] Netanyahu attacks Macron, Rail Youm, https://l1nq.com/TJuYH.

[xliii] Netanyahu attacks Macron, Rail Youm, https://l1nq.com/TJuYH.

[xliv] France asks Israel not to attack Lebanon, Al-Sharq( Arabic ), September 30, 2024, Accessed   https://l1nq.com/exK8c November 4, 2024.

[xlv] Alison Hird, From protector to Onlooker, France Media Monde, October 4, 2024, Accessed  https://encr.pw/5N0ri November 3, 2024.

[xlvi] French Navy deploys near Lebanon, France Media Monde, October 1, 2024, Accessed https://l1nq.com/MP2K0 November 5, 2024.

[xlvii] Alison Hird, From protector to Onlooker, France Media Monde, https://encr.pw/5N0ri.

[xlviii] Macron says France not to tolerate attack against UNIFIL, Middle East Monitor, https://encr.pw/GXoSV.  

[xlix] French Navy deploys near Lebanon, France Media Monde, https://l1nq.com/MP2K0. 

[l] Why Lebanese Foreign Minister voices fear of sectarianism, Rail Youm (Arabic), October 28, 2024, Accessed  https://encr.pw/fj24w November 1, 2024.

[li] French Foreign Minister voices fear of imminent civil war in Leban in, Andalucia Agency, October 22, 2024, Accessed https://l1nq.com/tsJKd October 25, 2024.

[lii] Total Energy committed to start drilling next year, Reuters, December 12, 2022, Accessed  https://l1nq.com/tUdO8 October 30, 2024.

[liii] World pledge 250 million Euro as Macron calls for quick action in Lebanon, France Media Monde, September 8 2020, Accessed https://l1nq.com/60LEN October 13, 2024.

[liv] Gaza aid conference presses for ceasefire, France 24, Accessed http://tiny.cc/pbo7yz October 5, 2024.

[lv] French President Opens Gaza Aid conference, El Pais International, November 9, 2023, Accessed  http://tiny.cc/byp6yz November 3, 2024.

[lvi] Paris Humanitarian Conference, France 24 (Arabic), November 9, 2023, Accessed https://l1nq.com/WuDB8  October 30, 2024.

[lvii] Michele Barbero, Macron breaks rank with the West on Israel, Foreign Policy, November 17, 2023, Accessed  https://l1nq.com/T2drG October 31, 2024.

[lviii] Paris Humanitarian Conference, France 24 (Arabic https://l1nq.com/WuDB8.

[lix] Palestine-Israel Conflicts: Latest developments, Sky News (Arabic), January 27, 2024, Accessed https://rb.gy/qvsw6p November 5, 2024.

[lx] Paris conference raise $1 billion but ceasefire elusive, Daily Sabah, October 24, 2024, Accessed  https://l1nq.com/BL7mW November 3, 2024.

[lxi] Paris conference raise $1 billion but ceasefire elusive, Daily Sabah, https://l1nq.com/BL7mW.

[lxii] Paris conference raise $ 1 billion but ceasefire elusive, Daily Sabah, https://l1nq.com/BL7mW.