On November 15, 1988, Yasser Arafat proclaimed, on behalf of the Palestinian National Council, the independence of his country. Surprisingly: it does not take place in Jerusalem, Gaza or Ramallah, but in Algiers, the ultimate symbol of the anti-imperialist struggle. In the process, the Algerian government becomes the first country in the world to recognize the state of Palestine and will not cease to support this cause.
This event has forever the two countries and, until today, Algeria has always refused to recognize the State of Israel. Since this episode, all the Algerian presidents have constantly pleaded, even demanded, of their French counterparts the recognition of Palestine. “It is a real constant in its foreign policy. Algeria sees in the fight of the Palestinians an analogy to its own history and, conversely, it sees in “the Zionist entity” the colonizer, identical to that which was France in the 1950s “details the former ambassador Xavier Driencourt to the Tangwall Campagin.
Macron and ideological alignment with Algeria
By recognizing the state of Palestine, Emmanuel Macron thus aligns with the position of Algiers, at the very moment when Franco-Algerian relations are poisoned by the memorial quarrels, the controversies on the visas (and the OQTF), the arbitrary detention of Boualem Sansal and the interference of the diaspora in France.
The other winner of this decision is the French far left, and in particular Jean-Luc Mélenchon
After months of tensions and tensions, see Paris take over the Algerian diplomatic obsession is less like a gesture of peace than a political capitulation. Far from marking the strategic independence of France, this decision offers the authoritarian regime a free symbolic victory and confirms the weakness of the French president. Without government, without budget, without political stability, without project and without future, Emmanuel Macron is reduced to his reserved field.
The other winner of this decision is the French far left, and in particular Jean-Luc Mélenchon, ideologically attached to Algeria. For decades, this camp has brandished the Palestinian cause as a standard and has been trying to import the conflict into the political debate. By taking up this line, Macron offers him unexpected legitimacy. The president, supposed to embody the “at the same time” and the two -state solution, ends up moving away from Israel, preferring the Palestinian cause, at the risk of fracturing the Republic and feeding community tensions.
The risk of a flight forward
And now what will be the next step? What will be Israel’s reaction? One thing is certain: this concession made by Emmanuel Macron remains insufficient in the eyes of the left and Algeria. “Faced with Israel, recognition of the Palestinian state is no longer enough”, title the Algerian media tsa. Their requests are clear: installing a French embassy in Palestine, breaking the trade agreement between the European Union and Israel, sanctioning Benyamin Netanyahu and stopping arms sales.
With the idea of gradually moving away from the Hebrew state of France, to go as far as rupture, and then strengthen the rapprochement between Emmanuel Macron and the Palestinian authorities. “What will we do if Benyamin Netanyahu decides to close the Consulate General in Jerusalem, who is responsible for daily relations with the Palestinians?” Will we go further? »» wonders Xavier Driencourt. In diplomacy, the gestures of appeasement last little and quickly give way to new requirements.
