France has defended its record on combating antisemitism after Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu accused Emmanuel Macron of emboldening hate attacks against Jews by pledging to recognise a Palestinian state.
France has hit back with unusual force after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused President Emmanuel Macron of stoking antisemitism, as Paris prepares to recognise a Palestinian state next month.
The row – already simmering since Macron’s announcement in July – burst into open confrontation on Tuesday when Netanyahu wrote to the French leader warning that antisemitism had “surged” in France since his decision.
He claimed that recognition of Palestinian statehood would “pour fuel on this antisemitic fire” and reward Hamas, while endangering France’s own Jewish community.
France to recognise Palestinian statehood, defying US-Israel backlash
Netanyahu's accusations 'erroneous'
The Élysée’s response was swift and sharp. Netanyahu’s charge, officials said, was “abject” and “erroneous”. In a statement, the presidency insisted: “This is a time for seriousness and responsibility, not for conflation and manipulation.”
Far from tolerating antisemitism, Paris underlined, France “protects and will always protect its Jewish citizens”.
Macron’s office pointed out that since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, his government has ordered “the strongest action” against antisemitic crimes. Violence against French Jews, it added, is “intolerable”.
Macron’s minister for Europe, Benjamin Haddad, was equally forthright. “France has no lessons to learn in the fight against antisemitism,” he declared, warning against exploiting “an issue which is poisoning our European societies”.
Spike in antisemitic acts
France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, and the government has faced rising numbers of reported antisemitic acts in recent years – jumping from 436 in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023, before dipping slightly last year. Paris argues this makes its vigilance and record of action beyond question.
The latest diplomatic spat stems from Macron’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September.
France – a longstanding supporter of the two-state solution – says the step is meant to push back against Hamas and revive the prospects of peace.
More than 145 UN members have already recognised Palestinian statehood or plan to do so.
Why is France recognising Palestinian statehood and will it change anything?
Reaction from Ramallah
In Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority welcomed France’s stance and strongly condemned Netanyahu’s claims.
Its foreign ministry said his accusations were “unjustified and hostile to peace”, dismissing what it called the “old record” of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. “No one is fooled,” the ministry added.
The row has unfolded against a wider backdrop of diplomatic tension. Netanyahu on Tuesday also turned his ire on Australia, branding Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews” after Canberra announced it too would recognise a Palestinian state.
That dispute has already seen tit-for-tat visa cancellations between the two countries.
For France, however, the priority is to ensure that its recognition of Palestinian statehood is not misconstrued as hostility towards Jews at home or abroad. Officials insist the move is in line with decades of French diplomacy, not a departure from it.
