French President Emmanuel Macron has strongly opposed US President Donald Trump’s reported plans for the mass deportation of Gaza’s residents, urging the international community to respect the rights of Palestinians to remain in their homeland. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Macron made it clear that forcibly relocating 2 million people from Gaza is unacceptable, calling it a “political operation” that disregards the dignity and rights of the Palestinian people.
“You cannot say to 2 million people, ‘okay, now guess what? You will move’,” Macron asserted, emphasizing that the issue is not just about territory but the lives of millions of people. He further highlighted that any solution to Gaza’s reconstruction must take into account the Palestinian people’s desire to remain where they are, pointing to the complexity of the situation.
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Macron also referenced the refusal of neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt to accept large numbers of Palestinian refugees, a stance that complicates Trump’s proposal. Macron’s firm stance reflects France’s long-standing support for Palestinian rights, alongside its recognition of Israel’s security concerns.
The French president’s criticism comes in the wake of Trump’s announcement during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 4. The plan for relocating Gaza’s population to neighboring countries has sparked outrage across the Arab world and within the international community, while receiving backing from some political factions in Israel.
As the war in Gaza rages on, with over 48,200 Palestinian lives lost since the conflict escalated in October 2023, Macron reiterated France’s suspension of arms exports to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in October 2024. He emphasized his disagreement with the scale of Israeli operations in Gaza, stressing that civilian casualties should not be the response to the ongoing crisis.
