In a fractured world of fraying alliances and retreating world powers, French President Emmanuel Macron has emerged as an unlikely champion of Palestinian statehood – launching a diplomatic crusade with Arab partners that has angered Israel and may yet sway Europe’s stance on the decades-old conflict.
Macron declared his intention for France to take concrete steps towards recognising a Palestinian state “in the coming months” in an April 8 television interview.
By doing so, analysts say he is seeking to demonstrate that Paris is a “more mature, reliable partner” than an increasingly isolationist United States under President Donald Trump.
“He’s a young and ambitious politician with enthusiasm to take up the mantle of ‘Leader of the Free World’ as the US exits or destabilises Western alliances, Germany dithers on its own internal politics, and Britain deals with post-Brexit irrelevance,” said Monica Marks, a professor of Middle East politics at New York University Abu Dhabi, of Macron.
In this vacuum, France’s president “appears to be the most charismatic Western leader” capable of steering the European Union towards a future-oriented strategy “independent of Washington”, Marks told This Week In Asia.