French President Macron criticizes Israel’s strike on Evin Prison as unconnected to nuclear goals and endangering civilians. He urges de-escalation, deems US strikes illegal, but backs nuclear non-proliferation via diplomacy.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday delivered sharp criticism of the Israeli strike on Iran’s notorious Evin Prison.
According to Le Monde, Macron asserted that the operation was unrelated to Israel’s stated goals of neutralizing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and instead endangered civilian lives.
Macron also commented on Iran’s retaliatory strike on a US military base in Qatar, writing on X, “The spiral of chaos must end. I call on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, de-escalate and return to the negotiating table.”
Earlier in the day, during a visit to Norway, President Macron addressed broader military actions in the region, declaring that US strikes on Iranian targets were not legally permissible.
Despite this legal assessment, he affirmed France’s alignment with the objective of preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “While we can consider there being legitimacy in neutralizing nuclear structures in Iran given the objectives we share (…) There is no legality in these strikes,” Macron told reporters, according to Le Monde.
He consistently reiterated France’s belief that nuclear non-proliferation “can only be achieved through diplomatic and technical means.”
Macron also voiced strong opposition to any strategy aimed at regime change in Iran through military force, cautioning against the repetition of past mistakes. “Every time we’ve made this choice, whatever the legitimacy of the initial approach (…) we made a mistake,” he observed, suggesting such interventions have historically failed to bring stability.
The comments are in line with Macron’s recent voicing of strong opposition to a military-backed regime change in Iran, citing potential widespread destabilization across the Middle East.
“The biggest mistake today would be to try to do a regime change in Iran through military means because that would lead to chaos,” Macron told reporters at the G7 summit in Canada last week, emphasizing that “no one can say what comes next.”
He further stated, “We never support actions of regional de-stabilization.”
The French President has also been critical of Israel and its actions in Gaza. He twice called for an arms embargo against Israel to stop the conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah, saying that “stopping the export of weapons” used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon was the only way to end fighting there.
In another incident, Macron warned that Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza may be in breach of international humanitarian law.
More recently, the French President lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy regarding humanitarian aid to Gaza as shameful, adding that Europeans should consider increasing sanctions.
“What he’s doing is shameful,” the French President charged.
“My job is to do everything I can to make it stop,” he added, saying that the possibility of revisiting the European Union’s cooperation agreements with Israel is on the table.
In response, Netanyahu’s office said, “Macron has once again chosen to stand with a murderous Islamist terrorist organization and echo its despicable propaganda, accusing Israel of blood libels.”
“Israel is engaged in a multi-front war for its very existence following the horrific massacre committed by Hamas against innocent people on October 7th, including the murder and kidnapping of dozens of French nationals.
“The statement slammed, “Instead of supporting the Western democratic camp fighting the Islamist terrorist organizations and calling for the release of the hostages, Macron is once again demanding that Israel surrender and reward terrorism.”
“Israel will not stop and will not surrender.”
