U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
“What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight.”
Macron said on Thursday that France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly in hopes of bringing peace to the region.
“Look, he’s a different kind of a guy. He’s okay. He’s a team player, pretty much. But here’s the good news: what he says doesn’t matter. It’s not going to change anything,” Trump said.
Paris Backs Palestine
When Macron visited the Egyptian town of Al-Arish on the border with Gaza in April, he was struck by the mounting humanitarian crisis and made clear on his return home that Paris would soon opt for recognition.
Working with Saudi Arabia, Macron came up with a plan to have France, plus G7 allies Britain and Canada, recognise Palestinian statehood while pushing Arab states to adopt a softer stance towards Israel through a United Nations conference.
But despite weeks of talks, he failed to get others on board.
Three diplomats said London did not want to face the wrath of the United States, and Ottawa took a similar stance, leaving Macron to go it alone.
“It became increasingly apparent that we could not wait to get partners on board,” said a French diplomat, adding France will work to get more states on board ahead of the conference on a two-state solution in September.
Domestically, Macron was under rising pressure to do something amid widespread anger at the harrowing images coming out of Gaza.
Although with both Europe’s biggest Muslim and Jewish communities and a polarised political landscape, there was no obvious course of action that would satisfy all sides.
Israel and its staunch supporter, the United States, have blasted France’s move, branding it a reward for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which ran Gaza and whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggered the current war.
Macron had discussed the matter extensively with both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in advance.
(With inputs from Reuters)
