Speaking to France’s Radio J, a Jewish Radio based out of Paris, on April 9, Emmanuel Macron said unilaterally recognizing Palestine “would not serve anyone” and could create “instability.”
The 39-year-old leader of En Marche was very direct when the topic of Israel and Palestine came up. He clearly stated that France is a friend of the State of Israel and a partner for its security but at the same time, France is working towards the recognition of two states in the region.
Macron placed himself in line with the policies of the current French President, Francois Hollande: support of a two state solution but refusal of any pressure against Israel.
Macron said, “The key is recognizing two states in the region, with diplomatic balance work to build peace. If France commits to a unilateral process of recognizing Palestine, we are contributing to an imbalance and will weaken France’s ability to play a role in regional stability and in this conflict.”
“Anti-Zionism leads directly to anti-Semitism,” Macron added.
However, Macron criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s settlement policy as unhelpful. He stated settler expansion “does not help to pacify the region or to stabilize the conflict.
Additionally, he reiterated his opposition to the BDS campaign (Boycott Désinvestissement Sanctions), an international movement created in 2005, calling for sanctions against the State of Israel as long as the occupation of Palestinian territories continues. His political rivals – Francois Fillon of Les Republicains and Benoit Hamon of the Parti Socialiste – have also expressed opposition to the BDS campaign.
Five days from the first round of the elections, Mr. Macron leads in the latest polls with about 23% of the projected votes, in front of Marine Le Pen from the Front National who is polling at 22%.
Meanwhile, Francois Fillon (20%) and Jean-Luc Melenchon (19%) remain very close as only 4 percentage points separate the leader of En Marche to the 65-year-old candidate of La France Insoumise. The recent rise of the Melenchon in the polls has penalized the other leftist candidate – Benoit Hamon – who has dropped to only 8% of projected votes.
