French President Emmanuel Macron has rejected US President Donald Trump’s claims of bringing peace to Gaza, saying that not even one humanitarian corridor had reopened in the territory.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Macron called the situation a “spectacle that should shame us all”. It was his final speech at the UN before he leaves office next year.
Macron spoke hours after Trump had presented his Gaza peace plan at the same podium as a major diplomatic achievement. The French president questioned the meaning of such claims while humanitarian access to Gaza remained closed.
“What credibility do we have if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza?” Macron asked. He said it was impossible to celebrate peace when no humanitarian aid had been allowed through.
The White House rejected his criticism. Spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump had ended the war between Israel and Hamas, secured the release of all living hostages and returned the bodies of deceased hostages to their families. She added that Trump was leading the implementation of a 20 point peace plan for Gaza.
Macron has faced criticism in France from politicians and activists who say he has done too little since France recognised a Palestinian state last year. Paris has since taken a tougher stance on Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, introducing sanctions and starting a process to ban products from Israeli settlements.
In his speech, Macron condemned violence, land seizures and settlement activity in the West Bank. He said these actions were destroying the possibility of a future Palestinian state. Hamas, he noted, had never operated in the West Bank.
Macron also warned that weakening the sovereignty of Israel’s neighbours would not make Israel safer. Instead, he said, such policies would damage Israel’s security in the present and the future.
Defending international law and multilateral cooperation, he warned against a return to a world ruled by force. He ended his final UN address with a declaration of support: “Long live the United Nations!”
