The recognition of Palestine disarms the left and places the right and the far right face to face with their contradictions

Where he was least expected. When he was no longer expected. In the heart of summer, on the eve of a first weekend of back-and-forth, while the deputies and senators had left the shores of Paris for days: this was the moment chosen by Emmanuel Macron, Thursday, July 24, to announce that France was preparing to recognize the State of Palestine , in September, on the occasion of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. An announcement less surprising than its timing and the domestic consequences it provoked.

Some see this as a communication maneuver to regain control, as the saying goes, of a political agenda rife with controversies that undermine the executive. Gone are the harsh criticisms of Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau in an interview with the far-right weekly Valeurs actuelles , or the legal cases targeting Culture Minister Rachida Dati. Also gone is the petition against the Duplomb law, which has nearly two million signatures.

This decision, however, is only the result of a desire already expressed by Emmanuel Macron for several months. On the sidelines of a trip to Egypt in April, he declared on the France 5 channel that it was necessary "to move towards recognition of the Palestinian State and therefore, in the coming months, we will go there."

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