Many French ambassadors to Middle East countries have expressed their regret about Paris’ current position on the “Israeli” war on Gaza.
This is an unprecedented gesture in the modern history of French diplomacy in the Arab world, where many French ambassadors to the Middle East and some Maghreb countries, about a dozen, according to the newspaper Le Figaro have written and signed a collective memorandum in which they oppose the pro-Israeli position taken by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The joint memorandum was sent to the Elysée, and a French diplomat briefed on it said: “This is not a joke, but in the memo, which cannot be described as an opposition note, these ambassadors emphasise that our pro-Israel position at the beginning of the crisis is currently misunderstood in the Middle East, as it contradicts our traditional balanced position on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.”
The ambassadors expressed concern about the repercussions of the situation on France’s interests in the region. The newspaper article reveals a split within the French Foreign Ministry over their country’s position on what is happening.
Earlier, the French president, during a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog, retracted his statements he made during an interview with the BBC last Friday, in which he said that the Israeli bombardment was targeting civilians, women and children, calling on Israel to stop doing so. Macron’s decision to retract his statement under Zionist pressure has been widely condemned.
