Macron pushes starmer to recognise Palestine on visit to UK

London: French President Emmanuel Macron urged the UK to recognise the state of Palestine in an address to the British parliament that emphasized the need for cooperation amid Middle East tensions and uncertainty over US support.

Macron made the pointed appeal in a speech to British peers and Members of Parliament at the start of the first state visit by a French president since 2008.

While the UK and France — both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, have been in discussions about recognising Palestinian statehood, the UK has not yet decided at what point it will do so.

“Today, working together in order to recognise the state of Palestine and to initiate this political momentum is the only path to peace,” Macron said in his speech Tuesday. 

Macron’s trip marks the first state visit by a European leader to the UK since Brexit and reinforces the warmer relations between the two countries since Prime Minister Keir Starmer entered office a year ago. While Macron acknowledged finding Brexit “deeply regrettable,” he peppered his remarks with appeals to friendship and respect, addressing the premier as “dear Keir.” 

Macron and his wife Brigitte earlier Tuesday were greeted by Prince William and Princess Catherine at RAF Northolt, before being given a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.  

Speaking later to lawmakers in a gilded hall in the House of Lords featuring large paintings of the battles of Waterloo and Trafalgar — two 19th-century British victories over the French — Macron announced that the Bayeux Tapestry would be sent to the UK on loan next year. The 70-meter (230 feet), more than 900-year-old tapestry depicts the Norman conquest in 1066, the last time Britain was successfully invaded.

After enduring rebellions inside his left-leaning Labour Party over his support for Israel since the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks by Hamas, Starmer has taken a tougher line in recent months against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest military action in Gaza, including by sanctioning members of his administration. 

Advocates of recognizing Palestine argue it would help increase diplomatic pressure on Israel, but Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Tuesday cautioned that despite some European nations already recognizing a Palestinian state the situation on the ground has deteriorated. He refused to set a time frame for when the UK would recognize Palestine.

“Alongside French and Saudi colleagues, we are discussing recognition, but my indication and my instinct is I actually want things to change the situation on the ground,” Lammy told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.

Following Israeli strikes on Iran, Macron last month announced that a French-Saudi conference in New York on Palestinian statehood would be postponed. The meeting was intended seek to chart a fresh road map for the creation of a Palestinian state while also presenting Israel with new security guarantees and a pathway for further integration and normalization with its Arab neighbors.

Lammy said that France would either hold its summit on the issue later in July or September, depending on if a ceasefire is achieved in the coming days.