[Blog] Gaza Genocide - Macron: the Chirac example

For some time now, Emmanuel Macron has been announcing that France would recognize Palestinian statehood. A few days ago, he made his intention clearer by sending a letter to the Palestinian Authority in which he declared that at the next UN General Assembly to be held in September, France would officially give recognition to the Palestinian state. This is a major step forward, as although more than 140 nations have already done so, mostly from the Global South, it is the first major Western power to take this step.

By moving in this direction, Macron is following in the footsteps of Jacques Chirac. It would be recalled that shortly after his election as President in 1995, one of his major preoccupations was the bloodbath in former Yugoslavia. This war had been dragging on for more than four years, costing the lives of some 200,000 people, mostly Bosnian civilians who were the victims of Serbian violence, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing.

Despite the presence of UN peacekeeping forces, the violence continued and very often culminated in massacres like that of Srebrenica. Chirac could not tolerate this situation. He did not accept that the French troops within the UN peacekeeping forces could not retaliate when attacked. He expressed his vehement indignation at a mini cabinet meeting where he stated: "Nous devons réagir. Rendre coup pour coup. Nous faire respecter... Si c'est la guerre, eh bien tant pis, il faut la faire" (Scènes de la vie politique 1986-2006, Frantz-Olivier Giesbert). He forcefully denounced the Serbian barbarity and called on Western democracies to "se ressaisir" and not to accept the unacceptable. 

Avoiding the hypocrisy of diplomatic language, he unblinkingly condemned what he called "les maniaques de la race pure". His powerful stance led to the awakening of other Western nations. At first, there was reticence on the part of the United States and United Kingdom. Finally, Bill Clinton called Chirac one night and a decision was taken for NATO to intervene in the conflict by bombing the Serbian forces, which capitulated soon after. On 14 December 1995, the Dayton Accords were signed at the Élysée between Alija Izetbegović (on behalf of Bosnia), Franjo Tuđman (Croatia), and Slobodan Milošević (Serbia). The Accords led to the creation of a Croatia-Muslim Federation and a Serbian Republic, resulting in a lasting peace.

During Chirac's presidency, French exceptionalism manifested in different ways. One would recall his outburst against the Israeli police's high-handedness, who prevented him from hobnobbing with Palestinians during his visit to Jerusalem. He also strongly opposed the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. The speech of his Minister of External Affairs, Dominique de Villepin, at the UN Security Council, remains a masterpiece in eloquence.

It is hoped that the initiative of Emmanuel Macron will have a snowballing effect and will eventually bring an end to the genocide in Gaza with a long-term solution for both Israelis and Palestinians. Already, many other nations, like Canada, for example, have expressed their intention to recognize Palestinian statehood. Right at this moment, there is a high-level conference attended by some 100 countries at the UN on the subject of the two-state solution. There is a glimmer of hope.

Azize Bankur