After the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced that he was applying for arrest warrants against the leaders of Israel and Hamas, Israel and its western allies condemned his decision one after another. US President Biden said the decision to apply for arrest warrants was "outrageous".
It is worth noting that the position of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs makes it more special in western countries. On May 20 local time, the French Foreign Ministry said that France supports the International Criminal Court and its independence, and supports the fight against impunity in all circumstances.
Some American media pointed out that this statement marked a major difference in the position of France and its western allies (especially the United States).
"Major differences with Western allies"
On May 21 local time, French Foreign Minister Stefana Sezurne and Israeli Foreign Minister Isreal Katz jointly attended an event in Paris to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and Israel.
During the event, Katz directly shouted to Sezurne, asking him to "declare loudly and clearly that the prosecutor's decision is unacceptable to you and the French government, regardless of the authority of the International Criminal Court", and added that this is what Israel's friends around the world are doing, and this is what Israel expects from the French government.
Katz pointed out that the day before, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, issued a statement saying that he was applying to the International Criminal Court for arrest warrants for two senior Israeli government officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and three leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
Information picture: French Foreign Minister Stefana Sezurne. Figure/IC photo While the United States, Britain and Italy all criticized the ICC prosecutor's application, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement, keeping a certain distance from their position.
"France supports the International Criminal Court and its independence, and supports the fight against impunity in all circumstances". The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that in the case of Israel, the Pre Trial Chamber of the Court would review the evidence submitted by the Prosecutor in support of its allegations before deciding whether to issue these arrest warrants.
The statement also wrote that France has been warning against the need to strictly abide by international humanitarian law for several months, "especially in the Gaza Strip, where the number of civilian casualties is unacceptable and humanitarian assistance is also lacking".
The position of the French Foreign Ministry is obviously different from that of Israel's other western allies. CNN pointed out that France is one of the few Western countries willing to take a tougher stance against Israel. This statement marks a major divergence between France and its Western allies (especially the United States).
"It's not surprising that there are differences at the moment." Cui Hongjian, a professor of the Institute of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, pointed out to the Beijing News reporter that there were two schools of opinion in Europe about this round of Palestinian Israeli conflict. One school emphasized the Hamas raid, defined it as a terrorist attack, and the other school paid more attention to the complex entanglement of Palestinian Israeli issues for decades. As the conflict continued, a large number of casualties occurred in the Gaza Strip. Although France has experienced policy swings for a period of time, the faction represented by France now gradually occupies the majority, and believes that the "two state solution" is the final way to solve the Palestinian Israeli problem. Morally speaking, more support should be given to the weak side, namely Palestine.
In addition, as far as the court itself is concerned, Cui Hongjian added that the International Criminal Court was first promoted by European countries, mainly reflecting the values of European countries and adhering to humanism. The United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court, and has always been opposed to the International Criminal Court. European countries and the United States themselves have great differences on this issue.
Perhaps due to the pressure from Israel, the French Foreign Ministry made a subtle adjustment in its attitude the day after the statement was issued. Sezurne began to emphasize that Hamas is a terrorist organization that launched the raid on October 7, 2023, and Israel is a democratic country. However, when carrying out a war not launched by itself, it must abide by international law.
Ma Kelong was criticized for his pro Israeli stance
At the beginning of this round of Palestinian Israeli conflict, French President Makron made a national speech, claiming "unreserved solidarity" with Israel. The Brookings Institution of the United States pointed out that he was immediately criticized for being too pro Israeli and was accused of breaking the traditional position of France. From historical experience, compared with the United States and other European countries, France is more likely to accept the concerns of Arab countries.
At that time, about 12 French ambassadors to countries in the Middle East and North Africa signed a joint memorandum, expressing their unease about Makron's position on the Palestinian Israeli conflict. The French newspaper Le Figaro described this as "an unprecedented gesture of France in the diplomatic history of the Arab world".
"Makron's policy makes French foreign policy 'illegible'." The former special envoy of France to Iraq and Tunisia, Yves Obin de la Mesuzzier, pointed out that the Palestinian Israeli issue has been a structural factor in French foreign policy for decades, from former French President Charles de Gaulle to Chirac.
Data picture: French President Malone. Figure/IC photo Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Golan Heights in the third Middle East War in 1967. Subsequently, the French de Gaulle government imposed an arms embargo on Israel. When Chirac came to power, he also advocated calling for the recognition of the Palestinian State.
Some analysts said that, however, in the past 20 years, France's foreign policy slowly deviated from the established principles of the past. Although it did not give up the "two state solution" to the Palestinian Israeli problem, it did "fade". During this period, several presidents were close to Israel.
According to AFP, some people worry that France has lost its image of seeking a balanced solution to the Palestinian Israeli conflict. More and more Arab countries believe that France is allied with the United States and supports Israel almost unconditionally.
However, Cui Hongjian did not fully agree with this statement. "In fact, France is not completely pro Israeli, but maintains a 'dynamic balance' on the Palestinian Israeli issue, that is, it will exert influence on the Palestinian Israeli issue in real time according to its own interests and needs."
France adjusts its position or is related to the domestic situation
After the beginning of a new round of Palestinian Israeli conflict, with Israel's air strikes and ground operations in the Gaza Strip, Makron began to try to balance the situation, called for a ceasefire, and increased assistance to the Gaza Strip. A French diplomat said that in this regard, Makron returned to France's traditional "balanced" position on the Palestinian Israeli conflict, defending Israel's right to exist while maintaining contact with Arab countries.
In terms of humanitarian relief, in addition to airdropping supplies to the Gaza Strip, France has also deployed medical ships transformed from helicopter aircraft carriers to treat injured Palestinians evacuated to Egypt. Officials from the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Israel also held secret meetings in Paris to discuss the ceasefire and the release of hostages. Several French officials said anonymously that this proved that France has certain influence.
The adjustment of France's position on the Palestinian Israeli issue may be related to the domestic situation. According to the BBC, France has a Jewish population of nearly 500000, which is one of the countries with the largest number of Jews in Europe. At the same time, the country is also one of the countries with the largest number of Muslims in Europe, about 5 million Muslims.
The longer the Palestinian Israeli conflict lasts, the greater the impact on French society will be. The US political news website Politico pointed out that France has a large and severely divided Muslim and Jewish community, and French society is like a powder keg of tension. In the past few months, Makron has been trying to maintain the domestic peace situation almost every week.
According to the data of the French Interior Ministry, in the five months since the beginning of this round of Palestinian Israeli conflict, anti Jewish attacks in France have increased by 1000%. "Every time Palestinian Israeli tensions escalate, anti Semitic incidents in France will increase," said researcher Mark Heck.
The life of the French Muslim community is also troubled. According to the public opinion survey data, 66% of French Muslims said they felt discriminated against in social life. Hakim El Karui, a researcher at the think tank "Terra Nova", pointed out that it was obvious that extreme Islamic terrorism aggravated the problem because people were afraid.
In addition to social contradictions, French politics has become more polarized. Vincent Martini, a political science professor at Nice University in France, pointed out that France is emerging two irreconcilable camps, the right wing and the far right wing are more pro Israel, especially the far right party "National Alliance" led by Le Pen, which is regarded as keeping a distance from its anti Jewish history, while the left wing is more pro Palestinian.
Middle East media analysis said that "Islamophobia" and anti Semitism in France increased at the same time, and the continuation of the Palestinian Israeli conflict exacerbated the tension in France's internal situation. As a result, Makron is now forced to seek a delicate balance, which will neither irritate Muslims nor alienate the Jewish community, in order to avoid intensifying internal polarization, while trying to restore the influence lost by France.
Even if France wants to exert influence on the Palestinian Israeli issue, its role has always been limited. Cui Hongjian pointed out that the main foreground role at present is the United States, whose support for Israel actually limits France and even Europe to play a greater role. At present, France has adjusted its position to: uphold humanitarian norms morally, tend to support the weak side, urge peace talks in action, and stop the conflict as soon as possible. From the perspective of France's interests, Makron does not hope that the Palestinian Israeli conflict will further affect the internal security and economic and trade activities of Europe.
Luan Ruoxi, reporter of Beijing News
Edited by Zhang Lei Checked by Zhang Yanjun
