French parliament to vote on Palestinian State

French parliament to vote on Palestinian State
Public opinion in France is putting pressure on parliament to recognise the State of Palestine after an initiative was presented by left-wing parties.
2 min read
14 November, 2014
French public opinion is pushing for recognition [Getty].

The French National Assembly will vote on 28 November on an initiative presented by the Communist bloc to recognise the State of Palestine.

Members of the French Senate will also vote on the issue on 11 December. After this MPs are expected to call on the government to recognise the State of Palestine. This follows recognition of the State of Palestine by Swedish and British parliaments, albeit non-bindingly in the latter case.

Discussions are ongoing among leftist MPs including the socialist party over the text of the proposal to be presented to parliament.

The first draft of the proposal states: “The Parliament calls on the government to use the recognition of the State of Palestine as a way to reach a final settlement to the conflict.”

     France will recognise the Palestinian State. The question is when and how.
- Laurent Fabius, French foreign minister


French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said during a meeting last week with socialist MPs: “France will recognise the Palestinian State. The question is when and how [Ar]?”

French MP André Chassaigne told al-Araby al-Jadeed: “Things are moving in the right direction due to public opinion putting pressure on MPs to recognise the State of Palestine. This prompted MPs to present the draft proposal.”

Spokesman for the Left Front said: “We do not want the issue to be limited to intentions, and to saying it would allow for a settlement of the conflict. We insist on recognition being a matter of international legitimacy, and the Palestinian people’s basic and legitimate right."

“We are deeply concerned over the situation: settlement activity, aggression and sieges are all escalating,” activist Karim Jibran told al-Araby al-Jadeed.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.

Tags