DECRYPTAGE – Since October 7, Emmanuel Macron’s zigzagging policies and the upsurge in 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 unlikely to lead to a lasting rift between Paris and Tel Aviv. Even though Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has denounced a “ unacceptable situation “ and even if the Israeli ambassador in Paris is going to be summoned “ in the next few days “…Israeli policemen are renowned for their aggressive reactivity, all the more so in times of war.
The French authorities have already paid the price for this extreme sensitivity: in 2020, when the during a visit by Emmanuel Macron to the Basilica of Sainte-Anne and, in 1996, when Jacques Chirac, visiting the same sitehad lost his temper with Israeli soldiers who wanted to enter the church with him.
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Jerusalem: a diplomatic incident “likely to weaken ties with Israel”, says Jean-Noël Barrot
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Emmanuel Macron’s series of missteps
But the incident comes against a backdrop of very poor relations between…
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