Palestinians, who were forcibly displaced to southern Gaza by Israel, travel a road to return to the northern part of the enclave during the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, Oct. 12, 2025. (Credit: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters)
The European Union will “very likely” increase its presence on the ground in Gaza once a durable cease-fire is established, emphasized resigning French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Sunday, ahead of the peace summit scheduled in Egypt.
“Europe is already present through two missions,” Barrot noted during an appearance on Un Dimanche en politique on France 3.
The first mission, a monitoring operation at the Rafah border crossing (EUBAM), which includes French gendarmes, “will play a very important role for border crossings,” he said. The second mission, EUPOL COPPS, supports the training of Palestinian police forces.
Barrot stressed that training the police is essential so they can ensure security in the Gaza Strip themselves after the withdrawal of both the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and the Israeli army.
The international stabilization force that the international community hopes to deploy temporarily “is not intended to assume full responsibility for security,” Barrot explained. “It will, of course, be Palestinian police who do it but they need to be trained first,” he added.
Regarding the force itself, he reiterated that it requires “a clear United Nations mandate,” noting: “That is on the agenda in the coming days.”
In addition to European countries, Indonesia and Turkey have already indicated their interest in participating in the international force.
France has not yet decided whether, beyond potential support for police training and financial aid for equipment, it might deploy troops on the ground.
Barrot also acknowledged that the political crisis in France could have an international impact.
“It goes without saying that our divisions weaken us, and our ability to act abroad, our weight internationally, depends on our internal strength: military, economic and budgetary power, as well as our moral strength and dignity,” he said.
“Therefore, we must quickly emerge from this period of instability to regain the essential strength for France’s voice to count internationally.”
Meanwhile, Sebastien Lecornu, reappointed Friday evening as Prime Minister, must urgently form a government. Under threat of a censure motion, his administration may last only a few days, with its primary goal being to submit a draft budget to Parliament.
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