Director of JED TALKS
France’s Palestinian State: Driven by Historical Guilt of Nazi Collaboration
France’s planned acknowledgment of Palestine’s statehood can be traced, first, to its collective guilt for its persecution, deportation, and annihilation of 73,500 Jews between 1940 and 1944 in occupied France, Vichy France, and in Vichy-controlled French North Africa during World War II, under Phillipe Petain, pictured above with Hitler. 4,500 French police, acting without Nazi assistance, perpetrated the betrayal.
Photo: Picture taken in 1942 at the Drancy transit camp showing Jews wearing a yellow star getting their uniforms after their arrival.
The General Commissariat for Jewish Affairs, created by the Vichy State in March 1941, supervised the seizure of Jewish assets and organized anti-Jewish propaganda.
{Photo: Distributing furniture confiscated from Jews to victims of Allied bombing, Paris, 1943-1944.
On 16 July 1995, President Jacques Chirac stated that it was time that France faced up to its past and he acknowledged the role that the state had played in the persecution of Jews and other victims of the German occupation. Chirac said: “Those black hours soiled our history forever. … The criminal madness of the occupier was assisted by the French people, by the French State. … France, that day, committed the irreparable.”
Photo: Vichy France Government passes October 4, 1940 anti-Jewish law where more than 3,000 foreign Jews in France were arrested by Paris police and imprisoned in the transit camps of Pithiviers et Beaune-la-Rolande.
On July 22, 2012, President François Hollande said the deportation of French Jews was a crime committed “in France, by France,” and were offenses committed against French values, principles, and ideals. He continued his speech by remarking on French tolerance towards others.
President Macron said in 2017, in the presence of Prime Minister Netanyahu: “It was indeed France that organized the roundup, the deportation, and thus, for almost all, death.”
Photo: Picture taken on May 1941 at Pithiviers showing foreign Jews being registered by French police after their arrival in the transit camp. This “registration” was the beginning of the deportation process towards the extermination camps in Germany and in Eastern Europe.
The Vichy government’s collaboration with Nazi Germany, is a shameful chapter in French history. In the decades following the war, France struggled to reconcile its actions, and that collective guilt has shaped its foreign policy.
Photo: Jewish women prisoners in the camp of Drancy near Paris circa 1942.
For example, France has been involved in promoting human rights and justice in the global arena as a way to reclaim its moral standing after its evil actions in the war. The recognition of Palestine is a similar attempt to correct a historical wrong—by advocating for the rights of oppressed peoples. It is now striving to “correct” what it claims as injustice in Palestine. By officially recognizing Palestine, France is hoping to take a moral stand, distancing itself from its past collaboration with the Nazis.
The second factor influencing France’s stance on Palestinian statehood is its radical Muslim protests, riots, and rising jihadism. France’s recognition of Palestine—serves as a political tool to appease its disillusioned Muslim youth. By taking a pro-Palestinian stance, the French government is attempting to show solidarity with the Muslim world, hoping to calm tensions at home and project an image of inclusivity.
This French policy of appeasement is a capitulation to extremism. It is a concession to radical elements rather than a genuine commitment to peace or justice.
France’s recognition of a Palestinian state without clear assurances regarding the cessation of violence or the renouncement of terrorism by all Palestinian factions, is politically and morally bankrupt. Such recognition will embolden terror groups who will interpret it as international validation of barbarism. This will lead to further instability in France and across Europe. By prioritizing a symbolic gesture over concrete action toward peace, France is weakening its credibility in combating terrorism at home. Recognizing Palestine will contribute to radicalization and violence within France’s borders.
Condemnation of France’s actions is not enough. An international conference of nations who support Israel must be convened by the United States and Israel to demand that France stand down, for its own sake, and for the sake of true justice. France must be saved from itself, lest it further destabilize Europe and the free world.
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