Opening speech by Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, during the plenary session of the high-level international conference on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-state solution (28 July 2025)

New York, 28 July 2025

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Secretary-General,

President of the General Assembly,

Prime Ministers,

Ministers,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Having learned the lessons of its history, stained with the blood of fratricidal wars, and true to the principles on which the United Nations was founded 80 years ago, France considers the right to self-determination to be sacred. Because there is nothing more precious than the dignity of standing free on the land of one’s ancestors. Because being deprived of this right inevitably leaves to resentment, violence and war.

That is why France stood with the people of Israel when, after a long history of exodus and persecution, they finally had their own homeland, and their own State, and entered the family of nations as a free people. And that is why France has continued to stand with Israel, rallying its diplomatic and military forces whenever Israel’s right to exist was disputed or threatened, whenever its right to exist was disputed or threatened. In the name of the thousand-year-long relationship between France and the Jewish people. In the name of the right of peoples to self-determination.

France recognizes that Palestinians have this same right: the right to their own homeland. That is why France believes that the only alternative to the infinite cycle of violence is the prospect of these two peoples having two States, living side by side in peace and security. We have steadfastly supported that solution for decades.
General de Gaulle declared in 1967 that the resolution of this conflict must be based on “the recognition by each of the States involved of all the others.”

François Mitterrand, in 1982, asserted before the Knesset that “dialogue is conditioned upon mutual recognition of the right of the other to exist.”

Jacques Chirac, in 1996, recalled before the Palestinian Legislative Council that its people have “a natural aspiration to choose freely its destiny, to obtain a State.”

All of their successors, and, in particular, President Macron, have reaffirmed their support for this solution.

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But now, the prospect of two States, whose rights are recognized and respected, is in mortal danger.

It is threatened by the barbaric attack of 7 October, the worst anti-Semitic massacre in our history since the Holocaust. Threatened by the unprecedented savagery and cruelty that Hamas terrorists unleashed in the private quarters of kibbutzim and under the eucalyptus trees of the Nova Festival. Threatened by the disfigured shadows of the 1,200 innocent people – including 50 French citizens – who were savagely murdered, and whom we still mourn alongside Israel. Threatened by the shameful fate of the hostages who are still being held in the dark hell of captivity and whose immediate release we are demanding, like those for whom mourners will have to rend their garments and grieve. With such deep wounds, how can we conceive of peaceful coexistence?

It is threatened by the indefinite prolongation of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, launched in turn, which have long since ceased to have any military or political justification. Mass displacements of people, tens of thousands of civilian victims, decimated families, places of worship, hospitals and schools bombarded, the distribution of humanitarian aid transformed into bloodbaths. Devastated by war, Gaza is now a death trap where bodies bear the scars of famine and minds are ravaged by terror. After so much suffering, how can we conceive of peace?

It is threatened by the rapid expansion of settlement activity in the West Bank. By the sinister march of extremist settlers who go from hill to hill, uprooting olive trees, burning harvests and driving Palestinians from their homes at gunpoint. It is threatened by the increased disintegration of Palestinian territory, which compromises the very possibility of it being governed by a State, while last week, the Knesset voted for the total annexation of the West Bank. In the face of a fait accompli, how can we keep hope alive?

Opponents of this solution on both sides increasingly have the upper hand: the proponents of Palestine “from the river to the sea”, and the proponents of Greater Israel. And the two-state solution is in mortal danger. It is about to give way to perpetual confrontation.

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That is something that France simply cannot resign itself to.

And we cannot wait any longer, as time is not on peace’s side. After 22 months of fruitless attempts, we cannot hope for a lasting ceasefire without sketching out a shared vision for what comes after the war in Gaza, without sketching out a political horizon and an alternative to a permanent state of war.

That is why we, alongside Saudi Arabia, a major Middle East country, have taken the initiative to launch a collective effort to revive the two-state solution.

And France would like to thank all the countries that have stepped forward and worked tirelessly for the last six months. This collective effort, this conference called by the United Nations General Assembly, has already brought about historic commitments that are a source of new hope.

In the letter to the President of the French Republic and the Saudi Crown Prince, the President of the Palestinian Authority condemned for the first time the 7 October terrorist attacks, called for the immediate release of the hostages of Hamas, and called for the latter’s disarmament and its exclusion from Gaza’s governance. He confirmed the end of allowances for the families of prisoners convicted or terrorism offences, announced a reform of school textbooks to remove all hate speech, and committed to holding presidential and general elections in 2026. The conditions set down for the acceptance of a Palestinian State by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his 2009 Bar-Ilan speech, are met.

Then, the unprecedented meeting of Israeli and Palestinian civil society on 13 June, who together launched the Paris Call to guarantee the security of Israel by working on its regional integration, and to recognize the State of Palestine.

Lastly, the condemnation by Saudi Arabia and the Arab countries present today in New York of the crimes of Hamas has come, with the call for its disarmament and a clear expression of their aspiration to normalized relations and regional integration with Israel.

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As the French President wrote in his reply to the President of the Palestinian Authority on 24 July,

In light of the historic commitments that were made and of those that will follow,

In the name of the inalienable right of peoples to self-determination,

At a time when the two-state solution is more threatened than ever before,

France is prepared to fully recognize the State of Palestine, and will do so in September.

This recognition, a major decision by France, expresses a refusal, and also contains a call.

Refusing to see the side of war standing victorious over that of peace.

Refusing to acquiesce to Hamas, which has always disputed Israel’s right to exist, and which has always fought the two-state solution for that reason. But Palestine is not and will never be Hamas. Recognizing a State of Palestine today means standing with the Palestinians who have chosen non-violence, who have renounced terrorism, and are prepared to recognize Israel. It means creating the possibility of an alternative for the Palestinians. It means categorically rejecting and permanently isolating Hamas.

Refusing to give carte blanche to the irresponsible aims of extremists who, in Israel, refuse the right to exist of Palestinians and who shamefully and blindly spread violence and hatred, with no regard for the security interests of their own country.

Refusing the fatigue that part of the international community and its leaders are feeling, tempting them to give up, to resign themselves to the idea that all this is beyond them and that nothing more can be done. But France’s very soul rejects the fatality of the fait accompli. Today, we have the opportunity to save a peace process. That is our responsibility before history, and we are honoured to shoulder it.

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This recognition, a major decision by France, is also a call.

It is a call to all the peoples and countries of the world. Add your contribution to the edifice of peace. Join in the irreversible momentum that we have started along with Saudi Arabia by taking part in the meeting of Heads and State and Government which will take place in September during the United Nations General Assembly.

It is a call to the countries who have not yet recognized the State of Palestine. It is today that your decision will have the greatest impact on how things will unfold. Waiting for Hamas to be disarmed to recognize a State of Palestine would be play right into the hands of Hamas. Yitzhak Rabin understood that; he who fought terrorism as if there was no peace process, and who continued the peace process as if there was no terrorism. By recognizing it today, you will create the conditions necessary for the elimination of Hamas.

It is a call to the Arab and Muslim countries. Cut off at the source the rejection of Israel, which fuels anti-Semitism, extremism and terrorism. Return to the path of normalization with Israel. Let Israelis see how they would benefit from a regional security architecture that brings together their country and all of its neighbours. This requires courage, but you do not lack courage.

It is a call to the Israeli government. Listen to the indignation that is swelling around the world. Grasp the hand that is being offered to you to get out of this deadlock. Open your eyes to the aspirations of your neighbours to live in peace and security with you. Call a ceasefire. Lift the humanitarian blockade on Gaza. Lift the financial blockade on the Palestinian Authority. Abandon all annexation plans. That is in the interests of the Israel and its security.

And it is a call to both peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, who are exhausted by history and martyred by war.

In Re’im, which I visited a year after the massacre of 7 October,

In El Arish, a few kilometres from Gaza in ruins,

I saw with my own eyes the depth of the darkness you are experiencing.

Fight the violence visited upon your conscience with the weapons of the mind. Continue to plough the furrow begun by Rabin, Arafat and the peacemakers who came after them. Ensure your children grow up away from ancient hatred and destructive resentment. Climb this arduous path together, a narrow path between necessary compromise and remaining firm on what is essential. This is the only path to reconciliation.

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Aware of its particular responsibility to peace and security in the world, determined to break the spiral of violence in the Middle East, indifferent to the attacks of those who want to persuade it otherwise, France is ready to fully recognize the State of Palestine and will do so this September.

So that a new alliance may be woven between the peoples in the region, founded on justice, mutual recognition and shared humanity. So that the terrible chapter of war may be brought to a close, and the much-awaited chapter of peace may finally be opened.