DECRYPTION – Since October 7, Emmanuel Macron’s zigzag policy and the outbreak of anti-Semitic acts in the country have tarnished the bilateral relationship.
On its own, the incident between French and Israeli security forces on Thursday on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, at the entrance to a religious site belonging to France, is not likely to lead to a lasting quarrel between Paris and Tel Aviv. Even if the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, denounced a « unacceptable situation » and even if the Israeli ambassador in Paris will be summoned « in the coming days »…Israeli police officers are renowned for their aggressive reactivity, especially during times of war.
The French authorities have already paid the price for this extreme sensitivity: in 2020, during a visit by Emmanuel Macron to the Sainte-Anne basilica and, in 1996, when Jacques Chirac, visiting the same places, lost his temper against Israeli soldiers who wanted to enter the church with him.
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Jerusalem: a diplomatic incident “likely to weaken ties with Israel”, believes Jean-Noël Barrot
Emmanuel Macron has made a series of missteps
But the incident occurs in a context of very degraded relations between…
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