The streets of New York City are no stranger to high-profile traffic jams, but on September 23, 2025, the gridlock outside the United Nations headquarters had a distinctly diplomatic flavor. French President Emmanuel Macron, fresh from delivering a landmark speech recognizing the State of Palestine, found himself stranded on the sidewalk—his way blocked by the security detail for US President Donald Trump’s motorcade. With a wry smile, Macron dialed Trump and quipped, “Guess what, I’m waiting in the street because everything is blocked for you.” The moment, lighthearted as it was, underscored the complex web of personalities and politics converging at the UN during a week of historic declarations and simmering tensions.
Macron’s speech at the UN was anything but routine. According to Business Standard, he used the global stage to issue an unambiguous call: “The time has come to stop the war, the bombings of Gaza, the massacres and the displacement.” The French president, whose government at home is mired in political turmoil and public protest, seized the moment to position France at the forefront of a shifting Western consensus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Just three days later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was en route to New York to deliver his own address at the UN. Yet, even his journey reflected the new diplomatic climate. As Le Monde reported, Netanyahu’s official plane, Wing of Zion, took an unusual detour—skirting French airspace by flying over Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and the Strait of Gibraltar before crossing the Atlantic. The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs clarified that France had authorized an overflight, but the circuitous route was “the choice of the Israeli authorities.”
Why the detour? The answer lies in the deepening isolation of Netanyahu on the world stage. Since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on November 21, 2024, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Israeli leader has found himself unwelcome in several European capitals. France’s decision to allow—yet not insist on—the overflight signaled both a respect for protocol and a subtle diplomatic distancing.
Back in Paris, Macron’s bold stance has triggered a paradoxical surge in popularity among a group that has long opposed him: France’s pro-Palestine movement. As Middle East Monitor observed, “even the most radical agitators are impressed by the lead he has shown in exposing the lethal repression of the Palestinian people.” Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the French Communist Party, called the recognition of Palestine “a victory, belated, but a victory nonetheless.” Roussel went further, urging France to “act for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and put an end to the massacres, the persecutions, and the Occupation.”
This newfound admiration for Macron from the far left is striking. After all, the president’s current government is outgoing, having lost its sixth prime minister in eight years, and his austerity budget plans have stalled. Traditionally, French heads of state are lightning rods for public anger, especially in a country with a history of revolution and protest. Yet Macron’s pivot on Palestine has, for the moment, made him a rare figure: a centrist leader cheered by activists who once demanded his resignation.
Macron’s change of heart did not happen overnight. When he first took office in 2017, he spoke enthusiastically about Israeli business innovation and said little about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the immediate aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack—which killed 1,200 Israelis, including civilians, soldiers, police, and security officials—Macron expressed full solidarity with Israel. But as the Israeli response escalated, resulting in the deaths of more than 60,000 Palestinians, many of them children, and tens of thousands more maimed, Macron’s perspective shifted. Gaza, as Middle East Monitor noted, now has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world.
Speaking to the BBC in November 2023, Macron pleaded, “De facto, today, civilians are being bombed, de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop.” His subsequent visits to wounded Palestinians near the conflict zone reportedly had a profound impact, deepening his conviction that the Palestinian cause represented a broader struggle against Western-backed oppression.
In his UN speech, Macron condemned the Israeli military campaign in Gaza as “a denial of one another’s humanity,” arguing that the operation had lost any military rationale and was now targeting starving civilians. He called on Western countries, especially the United States, to stop supplying arms to Israel—a message that resonated with many but infuriated Israel’s government. Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, shot back, “It’s easier to come here and give speeches, take pictures, feel like they are doing something, but they are not promoting peace. They are supporting terrorism.”
Macron’s recognition of Palestine was not merely symbolic. He has rallied Western allies—including Australia, Britain, and Canada—to follow suit, challenging decades of what he now sees as “slavish support” for Israel. It’s a stark reversal from his earlier years, when he described Jerusalem as Israel’s “eternal capital” while sidestepping Palestinian claims. Now, he envisions a ceasefire in Gaza, enforced by international security forces, and a reconstruction effort financed in part by Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations.
Of course, this shift has not come without cost. Macron’s stance has drawn ire from Israeli officials and skepticism from traditional allies in Washington. As far-right ministers in Tel Aviv contemplate the annexation of the West Bank, Macron faces a new set of adversaries abroad even as he wins grudging respect at home from former critics. The move, as Middle East Monitor put it, “will certainly make Macron hugely unpopular with new enemies – notably the Israelis and the Americans – but he will rightly believe that this is a price worth paying.”
Meanwhile, President Trump remains steadfast in his support for Israel, continuing to provide military and financial backing. Some critics, as reported, accuse him of “pouring arms and money into the continued eradication of Palestinians” and dismissing Palestinian suffering. The contrast between the two presidents was never clearer than in the streets of New York: Macron, momentarily blocked by Trump’s motorcade, waiting to move forward—both literally and, perhaps, figuratively.
As the world watches, Macron’s recognition of Palestine marks a significant, if controversial, departure from decades of Western policy. Whether it will lead to the ceasefire and reconstruction he envisions remains uncertain. But for now, the French president has staked his legacy on the hope that a principled stand can change the course of history—even if it means waiting in the street for a motorcade to pass.
