Emmanuel Macron during his interview on TF1, on May 13, 2025. (Credit: Ludovic Marin/AFP.)
"What the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is doing today (in Gaza) is unacceptable," "it’s a disgrace," said Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday during an interview on TF1.
"The humanitarian crisis is the most severe we have known’ since October 7, 2023, during which 251 people were kidnapped by Hamas, prompting an Israeli response. ‘It’s an unacceptable humanitarian tragedy," reiterated the French head of state, while also stating that "It’s not a president’s place to say ‘This is a genocide,’ but that of historians, in due time."
These remarks have sparked a backlash from representatives, especially from La France Insoumise (LFI). "Emmanuel Macron is once again unable to speak of genocide in Gaza even though the French penal code leaves no doubt about the situation. Disgraceful," denounced LFI deputy Antoine Leaument on his X account. The leader of the party, Mathilde Panot, meanwhile took the opportunity to share a petition calling for the convening of a constituent assembly for the 6th Republic. "Macron remains the worst of Macron. Who is surprised? He refuses to recognize the existence of a genocide in Gaza. He remains silent on Kanaky-New Caledonia a year after the crisis he himself sparked. Why? We know on our side what our purpose is: we will turn the page on Macronism! Sign the petition," she wrote on the social network.
Several internet users also criticized this sequence. "It is not historians who should say it but international and humanitarian law specialists. And they are saying it," reads an Instagram post.
The French president reminded that he was "one of the only leaders to go to the border" between Egypt and Gaza, "one of the worst things he had seen", lamenting that "all the aid France and other countries are sending" is "being blocked by the Israelis". Macron also stated that the question of revising the "cooperation agreements" between the EU and Israel was "open".
The Netherlands asked the European Commission to determine if the Israeli government was respecting Article 2 of the EU-Israel association agreement, which states that relations are based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, with a view to a potential revision. "It’s a legitimate request and I invite the European Commission to review it," emphasized Jean-Noel Barrot earlier on Tuesday at the Assembly. "We have fought tirelessly to stop this conflict. And today, we need the United States of America," said Macron, estimating that US President Donald Trump was "the one with the leverage".
Israeli strikes near a hospital in southern Gaza killed 28 people on Tuesday, announced the local civil defense, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an upcoming intensification of the war in the Palestinian territory.
Following a brief pause for the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, the Israeli army resumed its bombings, successively targeting two hospitals in Khan Younes, each reportedly housing "a command and control center" of the Palestinian Islamist movement. On March 18, after a two-month truce, the Israeli army resumed its offensive in the Palestinian territory, where it has also blocked all entry of humanitarian aid since March 2. And on May 5, Israel announced a new military campaign planning the "conquest" of Gaza, necessitating the internal displacement of "most" of its 2.4 million inhabitants.
The Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, resulted in the death of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Israeli reprisals have killed at least 52,908 in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to data published Tuesday by the Hamas Health Ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.
