For the occasion, the French president treated himself to a few glasses of Lagavulin, his favorite whisky. The atmosphere was festive aboard the presidential A330 plane on Wednesday, September 24. Returning from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Emmanuel Macron was jubilant in front of his closest advisers. Two days earlier, France had recognized the State of Palestine against the wishes of Israel and the United States, prompting about 10 other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, to do the same. According to the president, the goal was "to open a path to peace" in Gaza, a territory battered by Israeli strikes and army snipers who, while officially targeting Hamas members, have killed civilians and destroyed hospitals, institutions and places of worship in the enclave.

But what kind of diplomatic victory was this? "Everything still has to be done," said Ofer Bronchtein, Macron's special envoy for the Middle East, emphasizing that France's symbolic gesture was only the first step in a long process aimed at reviving the two-state solution.

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