Emmanuel Macron wanted to make history. He aimed to be at the forefront of a "political solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by launching an international "momentum" centered on France's recognition of a Palestinian state, as he put it. The date for this "path to peace" was set for Wednesday, June 18. In New York, from the United Nations headquarters, the French president, together with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was to revive the two-state solution, which has fallen out of favor for many years.

But all of Macron's ambitions were dashed on Friday morning. Israeli strikes in Iran destroyed nuclear and military sites belonging to the regime and, in Israeli terms, "decapitated" the Iranian general staff, disrupting the geopolitical calendar. The United Nations conference was postponed indefinitely. Officially, for "logistical" and "security" reasons, Macron said at a press conference held at the Elysée on evening. "The crown prince, like the president of the Palestinian Authority, told me that they were not in a logistical, physical, security, or political position to travel to New York," he said. Macron insisted this was "pure realism."

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