Emmanuel Macron warns that Gaza inaction threatens global credibility at U.N. address.

Macron said France would continue supporting the International Court of Justice’s “central role” and warned against a new international “order of impunity.” He also called for Security Council reform to admit new members and regions.
Before the U.N. gathering, Macron said he and U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to seek a moratorium on Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, amid broader concerns about attacks on civilian and critical infrastructure.
Israeli lawmakers rejected Macron’s assessment of Hamas’s activity in the West Bank. Benny Gantz said Macron was taking “fake news to a new high,” while Gadi Eisenkot cited a recent deadly attack in Binyamin and defended continued Israel Defense Forces operations in Judea and Samaria.
Macron framed the Gaza debate within a wider warning about attacks on civilians and infrastructure, saying the world had entered a “new era of barbaric acts” and asking whether countries wanted a return to the “law of the jungle” or a rules-based international society.
French President Emmanuel Macron rejected claims of peace in Gaza during his final United Nations General Assembly address, saying humanitarian aid remained blocked and calling the situation a "spectacle of shame" for the world. The Hindu reported that Macron questioned whether countries truly cared about Palestinian rights if they recognized a Palestinian state but took no action to protect civilians on the ground.
The remarks directly challenged U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration that his 20-Point Gaza Peace Plan had ended the war. Macron warned the international community against sliding into a "law of the jungle" and demanded stronger enforcement of humanitarian law, even as Israeli officials fired back, accusing him of spreading "fake news" about Hamas activity in the West Bank.
Macron told the United Nations that proclaimed peace had changed nothing on the ground. "Some boast of a supposed peace," he said. "But that peace has not reopened humanitarian access for a single second." Dainik Jagran reported that the French president framed Gaza as a test of whether the world would enforce its own rules or abandon them entirely.
The speech directly contradicted Trump's earlier UNGA address, where the U.S. president declared victory: "We ended the war in Gaza, saving untold thousands of lives." Macron's counter-message — delivered hours later — stripped away diplomatic niceties. He said blocking aid to starving civilians was indefensible, no matter which side ordered it.
Israeli officials erupted in anger at Macron's claim that "Hamas has never been particularly active in the West Bank." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office called the statement "grotesquely absurd." Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused Macron of lying, pointing to the recent killing of Netanel Shukrun, a dual French-Israeli citizen shot near Binyamin on the eve of Yom Kippur.
Opposition lawmakers joined the pile-on. Benny Gantz said Macron was taking "fake news to a new high." Gadi Eisenkot cited the deadly Binyamin attack as proof that Hamas cells operate in the West Bank and defended continued Israeli military operations there. Israeli officials argued Macron was erasing the reality of daily threats against Israeli civilians.
Beyond Gaza, Macron condemned alleged violations and settler violence in the West Bank. He called for respect of Lebanon's and Syria's sovereignty, warning that security concerns could not justify invading neighboring states. L'Orient-Le Jour noted that Macron reaffirmed France's commitment to Israel's security while demanding the same protections for Palestinians and neighboring nations.
Macron urged the world to strengthen the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and the UN Security Council. He warned against a "new order of impunity" and called for Security Council reform to admit new permanent members representing emerging regions and the Global South. His message: institutions must either enforce rules fairly or lose all credibility.
On a rare point of alignment, Macron and Trump agreed during a bilateral meeting to pursue a moratorium on Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure. This came as the world entered what Macron called a "new era of barbaric acts" targeting civilians and critical systems across multiple conflicts.
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