Macron's clownish behaviour in the Middle East Figuring out clumsy diplomacy

French President Emmanuel Macron made a new diplomatic statement during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging the need for a ceasefire in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. This call came after Netanyahu referred to Macron's suggestion of implementing an arms embargo against Israel as "shameful." Macron's clumsy and poorly thought-out policies in the Middle East seem to have reached a peak. Considering that political failures have been a constant for the French president, one might wonder: what is Macron thinking?

Caliber.Az turned to Israeli experts to learn how Paris's initiatives and actions are perceived within Israel.

According to the renowned Israeli writer, journalist, and military expert Peter Lukimson, Israel has been engaged in a difficult struggle for its right to exist on its ancestral land for exactly a year. In such a situation, both individuals and nations come to understand who their true friends and enemies are.

"France has never been counted among Israel's great friends; it has turned its back on us in the past, so the stance of its president was expected. Macron's call for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza can only be described as hypocrisy, questioning our very right to self-defence. Where has Macron been during this entire year when Hezbollah has been shelling Israel from Lebanese territory daily (and I mean literally every day!)? These attacks have increasingly encroached on our territory. Since October 2023, hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in the northern part of the country have left their homes and become refugees. Our fields and orchards have been burned, and our barns and poultry farms have been destroyed by rockets. The damage we have suffered from these attacks has long surpassed millions and reached billions of dollars, not to mention the significant human losses among Jews, Druze, and Arabs.

Just remember the horrific strike on children and teenagers playing soccer in the village of Majdal Shams—12 of them were killed, and many of the dozens injured were literally pulled from the brink of death by our doctors. I have spoken with these doctors, and I know what I'm saying. Would France or any other country in the world tolerate countless rocket attacks from the territory of a neighbouring or any other country for 11 months?! And during all this time, the world remained silent, including Macron!" emphasized the Israeli political analyst.

According to him, the Americans had been messing with Israel for 11 months, assuring it that they would find a diplomatic solution to the problem, which in fact did not exist from the start.

"And now, when we are simply demanding that Hezbollah and Lebanon fully comply with UN Resolution 1701, we are being called to a ceasefire?! Note that Israel has no territorial claims against Lebanon, nor does Lebanon have any against us. The border line was finalized and approved by the UN in 2006 and was officially accepted by both sides. Therefore, we are dealing with clear and blatant aggression. The full scale of this aggression is only now becoming apparent as our army has entered Lebanese territory and discovered tunnels leading into Israel that Hezbollah militants were supposed to use for infiltration. By the way, there have been several attempts at such breaches in the past, one very recently, but this time our army was on high alert.

Besides, now we are being asked to halt an operation that we are conducting with truly surgical precision, adhering to all international laws and doing our utmost to spare the civilian population. Even in Beirut, fire is only directed at the Dahiya neighbourhood, which is effectively a stronghold of Hezbollah, and even there, only precision weapons are used: missiles are aimed solely at the houses where the headquarters and residences of terrorist commanders are located," the political analyst clarified.

As Lukimson points out, Israel is closely monitoring Lebanese and Arab media, as well as the sentiments of the people in Lebanon. Therefore, there is a belief in Israel that the Lebanese people do not support Hezbollah.

"Moreover, Hezbollah and Iran have essentially taken the Lebanese people hostage, and by freeing themselves from them, Lebanon can peacefully coexist with Israel and once again become the Switzerland of the Middle East. The destruction of Hezbollah is not only in our interest but also in the interest of the Lebanese people, as well as our secret and open allies in the Arab world—the Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and so on. Therefore, Israel intends to see this through to the end this time. The country’s leadership has no other choice; if they back down, neither the refugees from the northern border nor other residents of the northern region, who have lived under fire for so long, will forgive them."

Returning to Macron, it is important to note that France has long since ceased to supply any weapons to Israel. His call for a ceasefire was primarily driven by narrow political interests. It is no secret that a portion of France's population consists of Arabs, among whom, as in other European countries, there are many supporters of a fundamentalist version of Islam that starkly contrasts with the one established in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbaijan. Alongside radical leftists, these fundamentalists openly advocate for pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli policies. I have nothing to add to our prime minister's recent words: "Time will set everything right; with or without France, Israel will prevail, but the position of its president will forever shame France," emphasized Lukimson.

Alexander Gur-Arie, a political observer for the Israeli TV channel ITON.TV, meanwhile, believes that Macron's actions in the Middle East do resemble the behaviour of a clown.

"Macron is like a Gallic rooster, poking his nose into everything and trying to be involved everywhere. In doing so, he attempts to assert his importance, which, by the way, is a clear sign of insecurity, as any psychologist would confirm. Such behavior is unbecoming of a major politician, especially the president of such a significant country. But we should not forget that the whole situation with Lebanon began a year ago: on October 7, there was a criminal and inhumane attack by Hamas on the residents of Israel, our cities, and settlements, and on October 8, shelling from Lebanon began across Israeli territory.

Hezbollah leader Nasrallah stated that they wanted to support Hamas, and on that day, the sovereign state of Lebanon launched a large-scale rocket attack against the state of Israel. In light of this, Israel turned to the UN, but it all ended with a formal expression of concern. A few months later, personal representative of President Joe Biden, Amos Hochstein, arrived in the region, attempting to initiate dialogue in Lebanon, but all these efforts also led nowhere," the political analyst reminded.

About six months later, he said, France stepped up with peacekeeping efforts, trying to find common ground with the Lebanese side.

"The fact is that the French still consider Lebanon their domain, and since it is a former colony of France, Paris firmly believes they have significant influence over Beirut. However, as practice has shown, neither France nor President Macron personally has any real influence over Lebanon. Given that the legitimate government of Lebanon is unable to affect the activities of Hezbollah terrorists operating within its territory, Macron has repeatedly called Lebanon, trying to create the appearance of activity by shaking the air with calls for negotiations, but to no avail. After the situation worsened with the death of Nasrallah and the shelling of Beirut, Macron attempted to propose a specific ceasefire plan, suggesting a 21-day cessation of hostilities between the parties. But what is the purpose of this proposal?

If, after dealing significant blows to the terrorists’ headquarters and the "Pager" operation against Hezbollah, they have lost almost all their high- and mid-level commanders, have a demoralized personnel, and are facing serious issues with communication and ammunition supply, how can one characterize Macron's proposal to essentially grant Hezbollah a 21-day ceasefire? This would provide them with the opportunity to catch their breath, reposition, and regroup. It is sheer idiocy bordering on fantasy. What can Paris achieve in terms of peace negotiations in 21 days, especially after failing to act for eight months? Therefore, Israel rejected this proposal.

Then Macron, realizing that all his diplomacy with Tel Aviv has proven toothless, made an anti-Israeli statement, calling on the West to stop supplying weapons to Israel. But here too, Macron tries to twist the essence of what is happening—understanding that Israel is currently fighting a terrorist organization recognized as such worldwide, including in France, he justifies his call to halt arms supplies to Israel by claiming they could be used in Gaza," noted the political analyst.

Gur-Arie wondered how can one understand which weapons are used in Gaza, which are used in Lebanon, and which are used against the Houthis.

"The complete absurdity and hypocrisy of Macron's statement prompted a strong reaction from Netanyahu, who labelled Macron's words as 'a disgrace.' Everything that Macron said is pure political populism, aimed primarily at the domestic audience and intended to demonstrate that President Macron is still capable of something as a politician. Regarding the calls for an arms embargo on Israel, the fact is that Israel hardly purchases weapons from France, so this is yet another bluff from Macron.

Seeing Israel's firm response—since Netanyahu essentially humiliated Macron by stating, among other things, 'we will win without your weapons'—forced the French president to backtrack and call Tel Aviv to somehow explain himself and try to save face, including maintaining the relationship between Israel and France. In an attempt to extricate himself from the situation, Macron has now resorted again to his pitiful populism with the proposal for a 21-day ceasefire, which Netanyahu criticized and explained to the French president in all its absurdity."

"The foolishness of Macron's call and his misunderstanding of the situation lies in the fact that Israel collaborates closely with European countries and the United States regarding the supply of components, including, for example, chip supplies for the American F-35 stealth fighter. Such antics from Macron have sparked discontent among representatives of the French Ministry of Defense as well as among officials from other NATO countries’ military departments. They fully understand that such antics from the Gallic rooster could lead to the disruption of the entire military-industrial complex of Western bloc countries—should Tel Aviv decide to respond to a ban on arms supplies from European countries. Thus, everything Macron is trying to do and say in the Middle East can only be described as pathetic clownery," concluded Gur-Arie.