PM Borne outlines France's position on Israel-Hamas war
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00:00 Well, listening to that with me was Angela Diffley, our foreign editor.
00:02 And Angela, sort of overall, what do you think, what were your main takeaways from what Bourne had to say?
00:07 Yeah, so she was trying to outline the broad principles of France's position.
00:13 So, France standing firmly behind Israel's right to defend itself and within the constraints of international law, she made very clear.
00:27 She said that it would be a moral and that it was a moral and strategic error to say that the Palestinians' search for a state in some ways justifies what happened on October the 7th.
00:44 And nevertheless, she said that France was in solidarity with the Palestinian people, that civilian deaths must be avoided in Gaza as far as possible.
00:57 And she pointed out that France has paid, has given 100 million euros in aid to the Palestinians in 2022.
01:06 There will be an extra 10 million this year and that the EU is to triple its budget to the Palestinians as well.
01:16 And she also said another key element of France's policy was to try at all costs to avoid escalation.
01:23 These are much the same as Germany, Britain, the United States have all said.
01:30 And Elizabeth Bourne there speaking at the beginning of this debate in the National Assembly.
01:35 And the expectation is it might be rather fractious in parliament this afternoon because there have been real tensions politically going into today.
01:43 Yes, I think the most electric is to happen now after she has sat down when we hear the speakers, the leaders of the other political parties.
01:55 The temperature within the French National Assembly has been acrimonious since it took effect after the elections.
02:06 Some of that is explained by the far left who decided to pursue a strategy of very high profile issues and making strong statements.
02:19 And that has created a lot of fire, if you like, in the National Assembly.
02:24 Meanwhile, the far right have decided to pursue a strategy of trying to look like they're ready for power,
02:31 being very orderly and respectful of the customs in parliament.
02:35 So that has already created a very particular atmosphere in the French National Assembly.
02:40 This has become electrified since October the 7th, when Jean-Luc Mélenchon,
02:45 one of the key figures on the far left grouping, refused calls to label Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
02:53 And there has been a back and forth on many issues to do with this.
02:58 We saw the speaker of the National Assembly there.
03:01 She has received death threats and over the weekend was involved in a particularly incendiary exchange after Jean-Luc Mélenchon again suggested she was encouraging a massacre in Gaza.
03:17 He felt that she had not spoken out enough on behalf of the Palestinians in Gaza during a visit to Tel Aviv, which he said did not represent what French people think.