In an extended televised appearance on May 13, 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron launched an unprecedented diplomatic broadside against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing Israel’s conduct in Gaza as “shameful” and “unacceptable,” and calling for a fundamental reassessment of Europe’s strategic relationship with Israel. The remarks, delivered in a nationally broadcast interview on France’s TF1 channel, mark the most forceful public condemnation of Israel’s military policies in Gaza by a Western head of state since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel triggered the ongoing conflict.
Macron’s statements, reported by David Isaac and corroborated across multiple agencies including AFP and the Associated Press, reflect a deepening rift between France and Israel, as Macron directly accused Netanyahu of obstructing humanitarian aid, weaponizing starvation, and closing all humanitarian corridors into Gaza since March. Macron emphasized that “all humanitarian roads have been closed,” insisting that European states can no longer behave “as if nothing is happening.” He added that the European Union must “increase the pressure” on Israel, supporting Dutch efforts to initiate a formal review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement—specifically Article 2, which conditions trade privileges on respect for human rights. The Dutch foreign minister, Caspar Veldkamp, had already proposed such a review on May 7, 2025, declaring the Israeli blockade a red line and accusing Israel of potential war crimes.
Macron also revisited earlier French policy decisions, noting that Paris had previously restricted defense exports to Israel, allowing only systems intended for self-defense against threats such as Iranian missiles. In October 2024, he had even attempted to exclude Israeli arms manufacturers from Paris’s premier defense exhibitions—Eurosatory and Euronaval—though French courts later overruled these bans as discriminatory. Still, Macron’s broader message was clear: the status quo in European-Israeli relations can no longer be sustained under conditions of persistent humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. He explicitly aligned France with a broader European sentiment of “tremendous frustration,” as expressed by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on May 8, over the inability of the bloc to halt the Israeli siege.
In the interview, Macron also advocated a revived political horizon, calling for the demilitarization of Hamas and a renewed push for a two-state solution. “There must be a State of Palestine and a State of Israel living side by side,” he declared, reaffirming the position he had outlined in April 2025 when he suggested, to great controversy, that France could recognize a Palestinian state “because at some point it will be fair.” That earlier statement had provoked a fierce response from Netanyahu, who warned that a Palestinian state would serve as an “Iranian stronghold of terrorism,” and called the proposal a “huge prize for terrorism.”
Netanyahu’s response to Macron’s latest comments was swift and vitriolic. On May 14, the Israeli Prime Minister accused Macron of “standing with Hamas” and repeating its “despicable propaganda,” asserting that Macron had chosen to side with Islamist terrorism rather than with Western democracies. In an official statement, Netanyahu charged that Macron was undermining Israel’s right to self-defense and delegitimizing its military efforts against what Israel identifies as the Iranian-backed axis of terror. Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, echoed this sentiment with a pointed historical reference, stating, “We remember well what happened to the Jews in France when they could not defend themselves,” and accusing Macron of hypocritically preaching morality. Katz further contended that the Israel Defense Forces operate with “a level of morality that is unparalleled” under extraordinarily difficult conditions—superior, he suggested, to French conduct in historical wars.
Macron, however, stressed that France cannot unilaterally influence Israeli policy and instead urged the United States to take the lead in pressuring Jerusalem. He praised U.S. President Donald Trump for having brokered a temporary ceasefire earlier in 2025, which he claimed had saved many lives before its breakdown in March, after Hamas reportedly rejected a ceasefire framework presented by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. Since the collapse of those talks, Israel has sealed Gaza’s borders, triggering what the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) described in its May 13 update as “high levels of acute food insecurity,” with the entire Strip facing famine-level conditions.
Macron dismissed Israeli claims that Hamas was solely responsible for the food crisis, though the Israeli government, represented by Prime Minister’s Office spokesman David Mencer, reiterated its position that the famine narrative was exaggerated and manipulated by Hamas, which they accuse of intercepting and hoarding aid to bolster its fighters. Mencer challenged the IPC’s credibility, stating it had been “wrong many times” throughout the conflict.
Macron’s address also touched on the war in Ukraine, where he confirmed that the European Union is preparing a 17th sanctions package targeting Russia. The upcoming sanctions, he stated, would introduce secondary measures aimed at financial intermediaries and oil companies and may include the expulsion of additional Russian banks from the SWIFT network. This development follows a joint ultimatum from the EU, Ukraine, and the U.S. demanding that Moscow accept a “complete and unconditional” 30-day ceasefire or face enhanced economic penalties. Macron emphasized that while Europe has sanctioned Russia through 16 prior rounds, critical sectors such as oil and finance have largely been spared—an omission the 17th package intends to address.
On the question of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and long-term security architecture, Macron articulated a sober assessment. He acknowledged that “the Ukrainians realize the impossibility of regaining all the territories they have lost since 2014,” effectively ruling out the full restoration of Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders. He reiterated France’s current opposition to Ukraine’s NATO accession due to lack of alliance consensus and instead proposed deploying British, French, and allied reassurance forces far from the frontlines to conduct joint operations that would signal Western resolve and deter further Russian aggression.
Macron stressed the need to end the war in Ukraine on terms favorable to Kyiv’s future stability. He reiterated that “Ukraine must be in the best possible position to enter negotiations,” even if that means difficult compromises over territorial losses. This position subtly diverges from that of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly insisted that no Ukrainian territory should be traded for peace and has warned Western allies against pressuring Kyiv to “gift” land to Vladimir Putin.
Together, Macron’s interventions on both Gaza and Ukraine signal a recalibration of French foreign policy that seeks to revive European moral leadership while positioning the United States as the indispensable power in both conflicts. His criticism of Netanyahu, support for a Palestinian state, and push for a strategic realignment in Europe-Israel relations are unprecedented in the annals of French-Israeli diplomacy. Yet his emphasis on American primacy and his realist view of Ukraine’s prospects underscore the persistent limits of European power in a world defined by coercive force and geostrategic dependency.
Gros News 
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