President Emmanuel Macron has said that France will recognise a Palestinian state but will not open an embassy until Hamas releases the hostages it is holding in Gaza.
Speaking to CBS News in an interview recorded on Thursday and aired on Sunday, Macron stressed: “It will be, for us, a requirement very clearly before opening, for instance, an embassy in Palestine.”
The interview came as Britain, Australia and Canada formally recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday, marking a coordinated and historic break from decades of Western foreign policy.
The decision provoked sharp anger from Israel, which is facing mounting international pressure over its war against Hamas in Gaza and the worsening humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.
Portugal also prepared to recognise Palestinian statehood later on Sunday, while France confirmed it would take the same step alongside other nations at the United Nations on Monday.
Macron condemned any proposal to expel Palestinians from Gaza — which they view as central to a future sovereign state — during the territory’s reconstruction.
“But if the precondition of such a plan is to push them out, this is just craziness,” he told Face the Nation.
He added: “For the credibility of the United States, for the credibility of France, we cannot be implicitly or explicitly complacent with such a project.”