French Greens call on Macron to send Navy to aid Gaza, recognize Palestine

ISTANBUL

French Greens party leaders on Sunday urged President Emmanuel Macron to immediately deploy French Navy vessels to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and recognize Palestine without waiting until September.

In a joint op-ed published in French daily La Tribune, the Greens national secretary Marine Tondelier, parliamentary group leaders Cyrielle Chatelain, Guillaume Gontard, and David Cormand, along with deputy national secretary Aissa Ghalmi, called on Macron to take what they described as a “historic decision” to help end “the ongoing genocide” in Gaza.

“In view of the urgency and gravity of the situation, we demand that ships of the French Navy be deployed without delay to the coast of Gaza in order to deliver food, medicine, and essential supplies,” they wrote.

The Greens said Macron’s continued inaction would amount to complicity.

“If you do not act, you are complicit. Complicit in genocide, in starving children, in thousands of deaths for lack of medical care, in the massacre of a people. Your inaction will go down in history.”

The letter warned that Gaza’s population could be “decimated” by September if France fails to act.

The party leaders urged Macron to end “an illegal blockade,” expand past naval aid missions, and pressure Israel through sanctions.

They noted France’s earlier deployment of the amphibious helicopter carriers Tonnerre and Dixmude in November 2023 to support Gaza’s hospitals, and called for that effort to be “repeated and expanded.”

They criticized Paris’ recent food airdrop initiative as insufficient.

“The airdrops initiated by Paris on Friday, aimed at delivering 40 tons of food aid, are an inefficient and dangerous method,” they wrote.

The Greens reiterated its demand for France to recognize the State of Palestine “without further delay.”

“Take the lead in building a coalition capable of ending the humanitarian catastrophe,” they said.

“Demand sanctions against the Israeli government, halt arms deliveries, and call for the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement.”