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00:00For this exceptional interview here in New York, just a few blocks from U.N. headquarters
00:11where the General Assembly was held this week, we will be talking about that and the major
00:17questions that are shaking the world today.
00:20I'm with my colleague from RFI.
00:22Hello, Arnaud.
00:23Hello.
00:24Elizabeth, hello, Mr. President.
00:27So here, New York is the capital of the world for one week as we have the different presidents.
00:33You speak to one another, you meet, you carry out negotiations behind the scenes, you make
00:37speeches.
00:38And of course, we'll be talking about recognition of the state of Palestine by France.
00:42But first of all, a question about Donald Trump's latest statement last night.
00:48He said, Ukraine could win back all of its territory from Russia and maybe even more.
00:54Volodymyr Zelensky said very quickly this was a big change, a real turnaround.
01:03And what do you think, Mr. President?
01:05Are you glad about that?
01:07Do you think it's a turnaround?
01:09I think this is a clear message from the President of the United States of America.
01:13He's saying that Russia is quite clearly weaker and probably more fragile than people thought.
01:19A paper tiger, Trump said.
01:23So it is interesting to see how his take on the situation is changing.
01:26In addition to that, it's an acknowledgement of Ukrainian resistance, their ability to hold
01:32on to their territory and therefore maybe even take some of it back.
01:36The Russians have gained 1% of territory since last summer.
01:40No, let's just be very clear on this.
01:42February 22.
01:43The Russians attacked and they reached Kyiv.
01:46They could have taken over the whole country, especially that was what they wanted with a
01:49special operation which should have taken only three weeks.
01:52The Ukrainian counterattack took place in summer 22.
01:55We helped.
01:56The border stabilized in November 22.
01:59Since then, since November 22 through to today, 1% of the territory has been taken by Russia.
02:061% since November 22.
02:08That's the reality.
02:11Ukrainians consider, and our figures show, 20% of the territory was taken by Russia and
02:161% since last summer alone.
02:17So you've got almost 20% that has been taken, if we go right back to the beginning.
02:21But what I'm saying is that the stable border in November 2022, since then, only 1% has been
02:28taken.
02:29So we stabilized the border.
02:32Ukrainians resist.
02:33We helped them in that resistance effort, and they have been very good in pushing back
02:37the Russian army.
02:38But to come back to you.
02:39So now, you have the United States of America with President Trump, with a clearly new view
02:44on the situation.
02:45A new approach.
02:46So we need to act fast because times are tough.
02:49And he has taken stock of the Ukrainian ability to resist.
02:58He's taken stock of our collective response to do even more.
03:02And I think it's very important because the United States of America, they are key providers
03:08of weapons.
03:09We can't succeed without the US, clearly.
03:13Currently, Europe is putting in the biggest effort, Europe as a whole.
03:17But we need US weapons and their support, as it has been the case since day one.
03:22So now, Ukrainians are going to be able to take back lost land and push back.
03:30So if we look at Russia and their ability to maintain their war efforts, I think we need
03:34to be fully clear on that.
03:35But the real question we have to ask ourselves is, can we trust him?
03:40Can you trust him?
03:41Do you trust him?
03:42We must all be actively engaged.
03:46Since February of this year, 2025, there was a lot of doubt.
03:50There was fear that a rapid peace deal would force Ukraine to capitulate.
03:55I met in Paris with many of my counterparts, and we put in place the Coalition of the Willing,
04:03presided over by the United Kingdom in France, with 35 countries, Canada and Australia, and
04:09many in between.
04:10We put in place a military plan so that once peace has been signed...
04:14For after the war.
04:16Or a ceasefire.
04:17But it's important.
04:18When talking about a ceasefire or a truce, whenever we're talking about that, we need guarantees
04:22for Ukraine.
04:23And these are the guarantees that we're going to put in place.
04:24We're going to support Ukrainian army to support further pushback attacks.
04:29Now, in light of what was said yesterday, we can see a commitment from the United States
04:34to be by our side.
04:35So you see it as a commitment?
04:37Well, we're going to work towards that as a commitment.
04:40In addition to that, we see that our collective power is there to put pressure on Russia.
04:45So that, again, given what was said yesterday and what we are seeing out in the field, they
04:53are there to return to negotiations so that we can reach an agreement.
04:55Do you think there's a chance of a quick ceasefire?
04:58Is it close at hand?
04:59No, I can't say today it's within our reach.
05:03We have seen since March that President Zelenskyy is ready and willing.
05:08He said it numerous times in Jeddah and on many occasions since.
05:13But I don't see that availability coming from President Putin.
05:17President Putin does not want peace.
05:19He still does not want peace.
05:21We have no indication today that he wants it, now more than before.
05:25Is a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy off the table?
05:29I don't think we can never draw a line under it.
05:33Another such meeting was held, the only of its sort, in Paris, December 2019.
05:37It bore fruits, and I certainly think and hope that this time will come again.
05:46You said in August that you hoped for such a meeting, but it has not happened here.
05:49We are at the end of September.
05:51Well, that doesn't depend just on us, nor on Zelenskyy.
05:55I don't think it's a likely eventuality.
05:56I do hope that if we continue to put pressure on, we will be able to get back to discussions.
06:01Certainly, I hope it will happen because it means we'll save lives.
06:05We'll open up discussions about territory, security guarantees, security for Ukraine and Europe.
06:10In fact, we see there's pressure from both sides.
06:12Russians are also putting pressure on Europeans, and they're testing us.
06:17Three incidents in 10 days, Poland, the 10th of September, 19 drones, Romania, the 14th of September, a Russian drone, Estonia, three fighter jets that stayed for 12 minutes in Estonian airspace.
06:30So is NATO going to react?
06:32NATO will respond proportionally, and we have done so each time by calling out a situation, by summoning coordination meetings as per their bylaws, but also by ramping up our defensive positioning.
06:46France has assisted by providing Rafale fighter jets to become the air police in Poland.
06:52Is that enough, Mr. President?
06:54Given the provocation.
06:56You say it's proportionate?
06:58I mean, they are testing our limits, and it's just a test, so we're not going to open fire.
07:04The government of Poland has mentioned it. Tusk has said, we are ready to repel provocations and attacks, and we'll shoot down objects when they violate our territory.
07:19Do you support that stance?
07:21First, Prime Minister Tusk is right in saying that if there are new violations, then that is what we will do.
07:30But in light of that they are pushing the boundaries, our response, our collective response, was proportionate.
07:36It is perfectly legitimate that those states who are affected by it, draw a line in the sand, and this is what we have to do, we have to draw a line in the sand.
07:48So yes, the alliance's position is that if there is a new provocation, violation of land or airspace, then the alliance will respond.
07:57Will the US support you?
07:59The USA are a major part of the treaty, and there is the principle of solidarity by virtue of Article 5.
08:05So, you have to have a measured response, so to speak, but nonetheless, there is a risk of escalation.
08:14Well, what is the end game for Russia? What is the ultimate goal?
08:19They want to say, well, you want Ukraine in your peace guarantees, I'm just showing you that by testing your boundaries,
08:24you should better look at your own protection.
08:26The exercises that we have been doing with the Coalition of the Willing is compatible with our defensive position on the east of Europe, and this is what we have seen with NATO.
08:39So we need to show that we can protect Ukraine, because we have our early positions with our collective defence, and we can protect our airspace, so we have to respond fast, which is what we have done.
08:52We need to show that we have the means on the table, France has done so, and if there are new provocations, then we are willing to take things up a notch, because Russia has taken things up a notch, but it's not in their interests.
09:04To be clear, Mr. President, take it up a notch, what does that mean?
09:10Well, that means, if someone provokes you once again, you have to respond in kind, but with a touch more.
09:15So I'm not going to do political fiction here, but we have to show that we are credible in these sorts of issues.
09:24I mean, maybe you should ask the question of the Russians.
09:27They're the ones who started the attack in the first place.
09:29They're in a position today, in case of new attempts or provocations, new tests, so next would be to meet fire with fire?
09:38We're going to do what has been planned, to be perfectly clear.
09:43But here we're talking about European security, so we can't let the idea run rife that Poland, Estonia, Romania are in a weaker position, because then after them, you have Germany, and then us.
09:56So therefore, we have to be unified and credible, and we are, because we've put the means in place to be so.
10:06But we also see that the most desirable path forward is one where Russia finally realizes that they are powerful enough to destabilize Europe,
10:17but they come back to the negotiation table, and we find an agreement with Ukraine, so that we can come up with a new security pact for the European continent.
10:30This is what we are looking for as a whole, and it's what we've been fighting for since the beginning.
10:35France has sought a path to peace.
10:37When you're dealing with a foreign power that just wants to destabilize, you need to show your position, you need to show that you can resist, remain credible, so that you don't come off as being weak.
10:49And not only in Ukraine, we've also seen with you your speech at the UN.
10:56This is one of the major events of the week for you, for France, for Palestine.
11:01Can you tell us more about your decision to recognize the Palestinian state, your choice to do so?
11:07We know it was a difficult decision, complex, some hesitation.
11:13I think you yourself, since 2017, have often changed your position in this regard.
11:18This is something that you have thought about a lot.
11:20But, you know, once again, Palestinians in Gaza have asked me personally, what changed your mind today?
11:28First, France's position has remained unchanged.
11:32We have always supported a two-state solution.
11:34But you never took this big step forward.
11:37You're right.
11:38But we haven't done an ideological uter.
11:41Even when others were no longer talking about it, I went and met with President Mahomet Abbas to reiterate our position.
11:47And even in the region, certain players had given up hope on a two-state solution.
11:51France has remained constant.
11:53No matter our political switches, we've remained constant on that.
11:56So why did I choose to take that next step?
11:59We didn't prevaricate.
12:02We looked at the situation in depth.
12:04And we also saw that there was a desire for this to trigger something more useful.
12:09That is what I wanted.
12:10It's not symbolic recognition.
12:12This is a recognition which opens up a process to peace.
12:16The decision was informed by a number of things.
12:23First, what is our objective?
12:26First, we want to have the hostages set free, those who have been taken hostage by Hamas.
12:30Total war endangers that.
12:34A ceasefire.
12:35To save lives in Gaza, bring back humanitarian aid.
12:38But this is only possible if we can demilitarize and break apart Hamas.
12:46If you want to reach those goals, those objectives, you must do it through political means.
12:51You need to break the cycle of violence, where all Palestinians are seen as being conflated with the terrorist group Hamas.
13:00So that is why, from a strategic point of view, I see recognition as being a way to end the war.
13:07Recognition is the only way we can isolate Hamas.
13:10The only way.
13:12You have the Israeli army on...
13:14Not everyone agrees.
13:15Israel has said it's a huge prize for Hamas.
13:18Well, I'm talking about facts.
13:19The Israeli army were able to get the deterrence power back in the region.
13:28And since we have seen the 7th of October attacks, the victims of the barbaric terror attacks, the wounded, the hostages,
13:36what we also saw was that Israel lost credibility in the region.
13:40But they have brought that back because they've been fighting for their security.
13:43By targeting terrorist organizations, they were able to get rid of the heads of the terrorist organization.
13:48So you're saying that war has no use today?
13:52Well, what I'm trying to say is that...
13:55Is Hamas now disappearing because of the war?
13:57No.
13:58As we currently speak, and the Israelis see this the same as I do,
14:03there are just as many Hamas fighters now as there were before,
14:07despite the fact that thousands of them have been neutralized.
14:12So why is it so?
14:13It's because total war is calling civilian lives,
14:16but it is not bringing about an end to Hamas.
14:19And this is why you say Benjamin Netanyahu's plan is destined to fail.
14:23I'm just saying that from a factual point of view, this war has been a failure.
14:28So for me, recognition brings about a number of things.
14:33Again, it's the only way to isolate Hamas.
14:34Because of the Franco-Saudi efforts, we have brought in new commitments from the PLA to break Hamas,
14:45to demilitarize it.
14:47And the much-awaited law reforms from the Palestinian Authority,
14:51with new laws that are being passed, a vice president who has elected,
14:54change of school curricula,
14:56the region is being modernized to bring state to new authorities,
15:00which will bring about a two-state solution.
15:02In addition to that, you have 142 countries that signed the New York Declaration,
15:06a declaration that was signed by all countries from the Arab League, from the OIC.
15:11And for the first time, these countries condemned Hamas
15:14and supported the demilitarization, demobilization of Hamas.
15:17Yes, indeed, there has been progress.
15:19What I'm trying to say is this is the only way to tell the Israelis you're not alone.
15:26When the leader of your government is saying we're alone, we're the only ones to keep you safe,
15:30we can show the contrary.
15:32There is a peace process in place.
15:34There is a way forward,
15:36backed by some 142 countries and all of your neighbors.
15:40But concretely, when will the Palestinians feel the effects of this on their lives?
15:44I've been talking to people from Gaza who said,
15:46what is this going to change in my life?
15:48This recognition, I welcome the recognition of France and the French president's work,
15:54but how long will it be before I feel the effects of it?
15:57There have been dozens of statements of recognition since the beginning of the week,
16:01but it has not stopped war.
16:02No, because it can't work like that, but you can't stop war if you don't have a path to peace.
16:06So that's what we're talking about with recognition.
16:09This recognition is a peace and security plan for all.
16:13There are three pillars to it.
16:15First, a ceasefire and liberation of hostages.
16:18Second, Gaza.
16:19Third, two-state solution and the overall regional security structure.
16:23Once the plan is there on the table, what does actually change?
16:26The conversation we just had about Hamas is exactly what I had yesterday with President Trump and his teams.
16:31It's the one I have with all regional countries.
16:35I'm saying it is not working.
16:36What did Donald Trump say to you yesterday?
16:40Well, now our objective is to do things in the right order.
16:43First, we have to stop fighting.
16:46So those who can weigh in on Israel, on the Israeli government...
16:50The Americans.
16:51Yes, the Americans.
16:52And I told Trump yesterday, you have a major role to play.
16:55You support global peace.
16:57You want to see peace in the world.
16:58And what was his answer?
16:59Well, we'll see what he says in the coming days.
17:03Netanyahu will be speaking on Friday.
17:06And he said that, yes, there are military operations with colonization back in the West Bank.
17:14Nothing of that has to do with Hamas.
17:15And that decision is completely unacceptable.
17:22So he agrees with that observation.
17:24And in addition to that, I said it's no longer working, fighting against Hamas.
17:28The humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding in Gaza calls us to action.
17:33We have to put pressure on them.
17:35So you're expecting a two-pronged effect of pressure.
17:39Israel under pressure from the US.
17:41France has a power in the region, but we don't deliver weapons, despite what some people would say.
17:51France is part of the Iron Dome to protect against attacks, so it's a defensive measure.
17:58We don't provide weapons, and we don't take part in any of the military operations on the ground.
18:02But you know that the US is getting ready.
18:03The US Congress has been notified of plans to sell $6 billion worth of weapons to Israel.
18:09Yes, those people who have a way of putting pressure on them.
18:12I mean, there are two ways of taking action, and I do both with just as much energy.
18:17We have to convince the Israeli on one side, and you have to convince the Americans to put pressure on the Israelis.
18:21So if in the coming days things continue as they have been in Gaza, then we in Europe, we have to take on our own responsibility.
18:28And we have to bring in sanctions.
18:31But you can see that clearly the 27 countries are divided.
18:34Well, yes, but I see it, and I'm trying to change it.
18:38We are all faced with the same situation, and the analysis that I just gave you is one based on fact.
18:43Each country has their own sensitivities and history.
18:45You think that the association agreement could be suspended?
18:50Are you thinking of Germans when you say each country has its own history?
18:53I think of all European nations.
18:55Each country has its own history.
18:58And this is what I have said.
19:01For example, when I was talking with Chancellor Mertz, Chancellor Mertz was quite surprising in summer,
19:06came forward with some very powerful statements on Galva.
19:08So lots of work ahead, and you are committed to doing it.
19:11If the scenario were to pan out, what we are working on, we are not doing political fiction here,
19:20we have done work so that we can come up with a new plan.
19:22It is a brand new plan.
19:24We have already made breakthroughs, as I said, with the Palestinian Authority and with neighbouring nations.
19:28Never before had we all Arab League nations and the OIC together,
19:34especially on board to break Hamas apart and demilitarise it.
19:36So these are steps forward.
19:38Now, building up on that, we need the plan to be spearheaded by the USA.
19:44With Israel as well?
19:46So we need the plan to be spearheaded by the USA, and is often the case in this issue.
19:53What we have seen is that there is a convergence of opinions between Europe and the Arab nations.
19:57We brought forward a proposal, a three-page proposal, which we gave to the United States of America.
20:03It is the core of our New York declaration.
20:06And it is the core of an EU-Arab plan.
20:11Now, for the United States of America, they need to engage with it.
20:14There was a really important meeting that we held with all regional operators and also with other nations like Indonesia,
20:20those people who are very much invested in Palestine and the United States' involvement.
20:24So we have the plan.
20:26And I think President Trump's strategy is going to be to put that plan forward to Israel and to Hamas.
20:33And the first step of that needs to be the end of fighting and the hostages being set free.
20:37I think if we can get everyone on the same page, the United States, the Arab nations, Europeans, all behind that peace plan,
20:45I think we will be able to come out with a result.
20:47You, of course, reject political fiction.
20:49But, of course, you've heard that Israeli ministers have talked about the annexation of the West Bank in reprisal to the European plan for the Palestinian state.
21:00And Netanyahu has validated the so-called E1 plan for annexation.
21:04Well, I think on that topic, in very clear terms, he said that Europeans and Americans are on the same page.
21:13So no annexation of the West Bank?
21:16Quite clearly not.
21:16That would be the red line.
21:18Yes, but it would also be an end of the Abraham Accords, which was one of the success stories from Trump's first administration.
21:26The United Arab Emirates were very clear on it.
21:28And I think it's a red line for the USA.
21:30So, you think it's possible that the West Bank would be annexed?
21:37Well, I think if it were the case, but we shouldn't take what is said lightly.
21:41Thinking about what was said back in July, it's why we have to recognize Palestine now,
21:48simply because the Knesset put through a resolution back in July.
21:52And I think it's quite clear that they don't want to fight against Hamas, because Hamas isn't in the West Bank.
21:57Hamas is not in the West Bank.
22:00No, they're not. It's them working around a political solution.
22:05It comes back to this core idea.
22:06If you don't give a group of people a political way out for their own legitimate existence,
22:13when the international community recognized that some 78 years ago,
22:18well then, you're going to push them into a sense of complete loss of hope, or even worse, violence.
22:23Isn't there a risk that the Israeli government could become radicalized?
22:27We've talked about this E1 plan and the occupied West Bank, that the West Bank could be broken into pieces.
22:33Isn't there a risk of reprisal for Palestinians?
22:36The Palestinians are afraid that the offensive would become even harder.
22:40I think, quite unfortunately, you don't need that for what to be happening to be terrible.
22:48When I see what is happening in Gaza City, the only risk that we're facing one is laying passive.
22:53There could be reprisals against France as well.
22:55We've heard about a potential closing of the consulate in Jerusalem.
22:59I think it would be a very serious mistake.
23:03What would be the consequences?
23:05Well, once again, no political fiction, though.
23:07No political fiction. But a response?
23:10Well, we don't want to escalate the matter, but once again, we don't want to remain powerless.
23:15For all of these issues, you must remember that we are going to push diplomacy.
23:21France's role is to build diplomacy, and this is what we did.
23:24142 nations working together.
23:26France and Saudi Arabia.
23:31Now France and Saudi Arabia, we brought a political initiative,
23:35which is majority supported by the United Nations, which is very uncommon in this day and age.
23:41All regional players have backed the plan.
23:45And that's why I want to highlight how important diplomacy is,
23:49because it's a diplomacy which is already on the move.
23:53But we're not players.
23:54We're not providing weapons or we're not fighting.
23:56And so with that, we need to understand that diplomacy is limited.
24:02We need to put pressure on those people to put down their weapons.
24:05You mentioned diplomacy. Do you still speak with Benjamin Netanyahu?
24:08Do you explain your approach? Do you speak to one another?
24:11Yes, we spoke.
24:14Have you explained your approach to the Israeli people?
24:16Yes, we spoke. I was able to give him our plan for peace.
24:20Now, I respect the Israeli state, the Israeli people. I have a great friendship for that country.
24:26And your relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu?
24:29Well, I have respect for Prime Minister Netanyahu, because he's the legitimate leader of Israel.
24:35So we need to talk things out. We also need to explain when we disagree.
24:39Now, we disagree on these items. It's no mystery there.
24:42You haven't burned all your bridges.
24:44No, not for me.
24:46Not you. But maybe on the other side, they're lighting a few matches.
24:50Of course. We spoke, but 10 days ago, we're going to continue speaking and see how things are going to pan out.
24:56We need to keep moving forward, because it's essential.
24:58You said, you know, that the recognition of the Palestinian state created some worry and dismay in the Jewish community in France.
25:07It's the largest Jewish community in Europe of 500,000 Jews in France.
25:11Do you understand their dismay here at Rosh Hashanah?
25:16Well, given the UN calendar, I was not in charge of that.
25:19And right now it's Rosh Hashanah.
25:21So, therefore, I would like to extend my season wishes to the community, because it should have been on the 18th of June, you're right, in mentioning that.
25:31So I didn't get to choose the date.
25:33But, if I just may, I spent a lot of time explaining France's position, sometimes convincing people, winning people over.
25:40People agree, some don't.
25:44Some people understand the decision, they support it.
25:47Some people feel that we should have waited.
25:48Fewer than 30% of the French people agree with this recognition, without any guarantees in return.
25:56I'm always very wary of polls, because just yesterday there was one that said 53% of French people were in favour of it.
26:01So you can work a poll in whatever way you wanted to.
26:04It's clearly a question that divides people.
26:06But diplomacy cannot be built on such things, because that would be an election campaign, and I'm not running an election campaign.
26:13But we've heard that people are shocked that you did not set any conditions, the liberation of hostages as a prerequisite to recognition.
26:24But just if I may, the most important message I want to give to French-Israeli people,
26:31In fact, France has the largest Jewish community in Europe, just like we have the largest Muslim community in Europe.
26:42But we outlined our conditions very early on.
26:50For example, a French embassy in Palestine.
26:54But just recognising Palestine with those preconditions, and that's why now is such an important time.
27:01Because one of those conditions is having the hostages set free.
27:04But Hamas don't want to set the hostages free.
27:06Despite what they say, they don't want a solution.
27:09They never want it.
27:10They want to destroy Israel outright.
27:13Premier Minister Netanyahu, neither, doesn't want to have the hostages set free.
27:17Is he sacrificing hostages?
27:19Because if he did, he wouldn't have attacked Gaza City.
27:22Or he wouldn't have started the West Bank.
27:23Because Hamas are not there.
27:27Nor would he have launched attacks on Doha,
27:29because that's where negotiations were there on a U.S. proposal
27:32between negotiating states of Hamas, Qatar, Egypt, United States and Israel.
27:39So if this is the fundamental condition,
27:42then all of a sudden we're going to be handing this over to people who have no,
27:46who have a very different objective.
27:47So our objective is clear.
27:49It's a condition.
27:51We have to have the hostages set free and a ceasefire.
27:53And I'm saying this once again because we cannot be taken to issue with this.
27:57From France, I was out there as head of state, first head of state in Gaza on the 7th of February 2024.
28:05On 7th of February 2024, we put in place a commemoration for victims and for families.
28:10I have constantly met with families.
28:12So let me say it here once again today, having the hostages set free is for us the underlying condition.
28:21Despite the plan, if the plan doesn't work, we will continue to fight to have the hostages set free
28:27and an end of fighting in Gaza because nothing is worth the loss of life that we are seeing.
28:32That said, we are facing issues of anti-Semitism in France, UK, Germany, the United States.
28:40And anti-Semitism spiked after October 7th.
28:43And that has been there in place for many years, which is being pushed by some political parties,
28:48which is also pushed by Islamic radical tendencies.
28:52And it makes it very impossible for some of our citizens to live.
28:57I mean, here we're talking about kids who are being taken out of school,
28:59families who have to leave the neighborhoods, neighborhoods,
29:02people being attacked gratuitously in the street, people who cannot wear their kippah,
29:05kids who cannot be in schools because they feel that they are unsafe.
29:08So faced with that.
29:10Yes, we all have to take action because here we're talking about the French Republic.
29:13But this has nothing to do with recognition.
29:16To say so is falsehood.
29:19We never stopped taking action by putting forth peacekeeping forces in front of schools and synagogues,
29:30which is what we did right in the early days.
29:33We need to, we've taken action at the national education level.
29:37We held a summit very recently and we have ramped up our efforts,
29:41also from a legal point of view, to protect families and children.
29:45And even when you get to tertiary education, we changed the law
29:48so that anti-Semitism is better accounted for.
29:52We also brought place a criminal reform so that justice can be served faster
29:58in cases of anti-Semitism where it has been identified.
30:01So, yes, anti-Semitism is very much present in France and in Europe,
30:07but it is antithetical to the French Republic.
30:09So, as we recognize Palestine, as we fight for peace in the Middle East, in the Near East,
30:15we must also continue against anti-Semitism.
30:19And we have to, in fact, take action against all forms of discrimination.
30:22We need to build back unity.
30:25The clock is running.
30:26I'm sorry.
30:26We do have other major topics we'd like to look at.
30:29You will be meeting with the President of Iran just after this interview.
30:31So, a question that we're very interested in here at RFI and France 24.
30:36We'd like to talk about the Iranian hostages, Cécile Kolas, Jacques Paris, and Manit Motolos.
30:42The head of Iranian diplomacy said that they were now in the final phase of negotiating for the release of these hostages.
30:52The families are, of course, very concerned.
30:57Are you able to reassure them?
31:00First, I would just like to extend my support to the families and say that France will never abandon its own children.
31:07I, my teams, the Foreign Affairs Ministry are constantly in contact, open communication with their families.
31:12There is sustained, unwavering effort, which is the sort of effort which, in the past, has seen French hostages being set free.
31:22Will you speak to the Iranian President about this?
31:24Of course.
31:25This is the first topic I broach with him.
31:28Because, for me, that is what we can build trust upon.
31:35So, we keep them informed very clearly of things which I can't say here publicly.
31:40Do you have news of the hostages?
31:42So, it was actually very hard to get consular visits, especially when the strikes took place.
31:49We were very concerned about it.
31:50But the hostages had been moved, along with other prisoners, out of the Evin prison.
31:56But I'm also very wary, because, obviously, the less you say things publicly, the more effective you can be.
32:00And we want to be very effective so that we can have them set free.
32:04I just want to tell the families that we care for them and we are working very hard for them.
32:09So, yes, we have a clear view forward.
32:13We're working to reach that end goal.
32:15We understand your caution.
32:17And in the coming weeks, we will continue working on it.
32:19But I can't be definitive here today, because, again, it doesn't depend on us.
32:23There are other sensitive topics that will be brought up, in particular sanctions.
32:26Again, we've always been very clear on this, but the first thing is we have to have our sausages set free.
32:35So, there is a lot on the table, but that's not a problem for you.
32:38Well, I think everything is known and we aren't going to waver.
32:42We've understood that you've been very busy here in New York.
32:45We'd like to thank you for speaking with us for over the 30 minutes you agreed to.
32:50I would just like to jump in, because I would like to talk about the Iranian nuclear situation, especially France, is taking action.
32:56In order for our audience to understand, it's possible that the sanctions would be activated next Sunday.
33:01Well, this is what was outlined by the JCPOA, which is an agreement that has been in place for some 10 years now.
33:07France, UK and Germany together have a power to implement further sanctions.
33:14This was activated in August.
33:17And the process has been set in motion.
33:19We're currently finalising it before it is actually triggered.
33:23And we have had very important technical meetings.
33:25I met yesterday with the IAEA Director General, Mr Grossi.
33:28I will be meeting with the Iranian president in just a few moments.
33:32We also had quite extensive conversations with our U.S. partners on this matter.
33:36And our goal is to try and get concrete results.
33:39So having the return of inspectors and to give us visibility over Iran to make sure they never get nuclear weapons.
33:47If we can get that as an outcome, maybe in the coming hours we will have more confirmation.
33:52It's a very narrow window.
33:53There's just four days before the sanctions kick in.
33:55Well, the window is only open for a few hours.
33:58So it is possible that the sanctions will not be applied.
34:02Only if Iran makes a gesture in the right direction in the coming hours.
34:06Otherwise, new sanctions.
34:07Thank you, Mr President, for granting this interview to our two stations, FR24 and FRI.
34:14And thank all of our spectators.
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