The date makes this visit symbolic. Twenty-one years after the death of Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority who received the Republican award, in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine), Emmanuel Macron welcomed his successor, Mahmoud Abbas, Tuesday 11 November, at the Elysée.
This visit should emphasize that Paris has not forgotten its historic commitment to realizing a peaceful Palestinian state alongside Israel. “after a bracket that left French diplomacy divided and inconsistent on the Palestinian issue”assesses historian Vincent Lemire, one of the successful comic strip writers History of Jerusalem (Ed. Les Arènes, 2022). This invitation also proves that Mahmoud Abbas, a 90-year-old man, who is obsolete, discredited and unpopular even among Palestinians, remains the main interlocutor in the eyes of French diplomacy.
French and Palestinian leaders were secondary players in Donald Trump’s plans that led to the ceasefire agreed between Hamas and Israel on October 10, to ensure, in the American president’s words, a “eternal peace” between Israel and Gaza. While a precarious ceasefire is being enforced in the Palestinian enclave and the next phase of the American program is being gradually implemented, France is trying to regain influence and give voice to the Palestinian Authority.
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