By Hajer M'tiri
PARIS
France's National Assembly is due to vote on Nov. 28 on a proposed resolution calling on the Socialist government to recognize the state of Palestinian, French daily Le Figaro has reported.
The debate on the resolution, which has yet to be formally filed by a Socialist group, will take place nearly two weeks before the French Senate votes on Dec. 11 on a Communist resolution on the same subject.
Socialist MPs led by the chairwoman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs, Elisabeth Guigou, are working on a proposal to urge the French government to recognize Palestine as a state and work towards ending Israeli occupation, the newspaper said.
"The Assembly calls on the French government to use the recognition of the State of Palestine as a final way to find a final settlement of the conflict," a draft version of the text reads.
- Symbolic move
The vote is unlikely to change government policy immediately, but would still be highly symbolic after a similar move by British MPs last month.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Saturday there would be "at some point - that's obvious - the recognition of a Palestinian state by France".
"The question is when and how? Because it is necessary that this recognition should be useful in the efforts to break the deadlock and contribute to put a final settlement of this conflict," he added.
The French parliament is made up of two chambers, the National Assembly, which has the final say in drafting legislation, and the Senate.
Palestinian authorities estimate that 134 countries have now recognized Palestine as a state, most recently Sweden on October 31.
www.aa.com.tr/en
