At 10 p.m. on Monday (Greek time), the UN summit in New York will begin on the two-state solution in Palestine.

French President Emmanuel Macron will open the session, followed by a recorded message from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During his speech, Macron is expected to recognize Palestine as a state, in “a great day for peace and a significant diplomatic victory for France,” according to outgoing foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who clarified that “its implementation will be gradual and will depend on developments on the ground, including the release of hostages.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres will then speak, followed by Germany’s Annalena Baerbock, president of the UN General Assembly.

Afterwards, heads of state or their representatives will address the session, which is expected to last three hours. According to a French official, a joint statement may be adopted at the end.

Recognition of a Palestinian state: welcome and historic, but symbolic, say voices in France

The French president’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state was also backed by the Socialist Party. Its Secretary General, Olivier Faure, said recognition of the Palestinian state is not “a gesture that favors Hamas” but rather a reminder to the Israeli government that “we are not ready to accept the idea of a Greater Israel” stretching “from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River.” He also called on French municipalities to raise the Palestinian flag on their buildings to “show the world that France is not just the President of the Republic, that France is behind this gesture, and that we truly want to achieve a two-state solution,” which the Socialist Party has been calling for “since 1982,” as he recalled.

Opposing the Socialist Party secretary’s call, Republican Bruno Retailleau, also outgoing interior minister, urged the country’s prefects to ban the raising of the Palestinian flag “in the name of the principles of neutrality of public service and of non-interference in France’s foreign policy, which is the exclusive responsibility of the State.” However, as the ministry itself acknowledged in a statement this afternoon, 21 French municipalities have already raised the Palestinian flag.

Conservative daily Le Figaro also described today as a diplomatic success for France, noting that after months of behind-the-scenes contacts, French diplomacy convinced nine countries – among them Canada, the UK, and Australia – to follow suit.

Nevertheless, it pointed out, the initiative remains symbolic, since Palestine’s status at the UN does not change and the United States will veto it.

Along the same lines, Le Monde wrote that “Emmanuel Macron’s initiative can only be welcome. It is consistent and based on principles.” The paper went on to recall that “France has always supported the two-state solution, a goal set out in the plan adopted in November 1947 under the aegis of the newly founded UN.”

Finally, Libération called it a historic step, emphasizing that recognition of two states in the region had over the years become a forgotten commitment of the international community.