The Middle East fell off their radar. Now comes a steady stream of leaders who have donned their penitent's garb and flown in to show support and push for peace. The latest is Emmanuel Macron. The French president is travelling to both Israel and the West Bank as the war with Gaza stokes bitter rivalries in France, the European nation that's home to Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim populations.
We ask about Paris's official policy going forward and the acrimony at home over the far left's refusal to brand Hamas a terror organisation and over the government’s blanket ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, a ban that's since been overturned by the courts. How toxic is it this time in France? The whole world feels a stake in the land that's three times holy and the French are no exception. From the Crusaders and Napoleon to de Gaulle and Chirac, the Middle East plays a part in our own collective narrative. If this is a watershed moment for the Middle East, then which way is it headed?
