The world climate summit opened in Dubai on Thursday. However, the environmental issue risks being relegated to the background, while the truce ended Friday in the Middle East, between Hamas and the Hebrew state.
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After the relief of the release of the Franco-Israeli hostage Mia Shem, there is astonishment in the Middle East. The truce expired on Friday morning, December 1, and Israeli bombardments resumed on the Gaza Strip. This resumption of the conflict between Israel and Hamas will undoubtedly be reflected at COP28, the world climate summit which is taking place in Dubai, in the Middle East while several leaders from the region are present. Emmanuel Macron arrived on site Thursday evening.
Emmanuel Macron has not yet reacted to the end of the truce between the two parties. It’s impossible to know when and how he will do it, but it’s hard to imagine he won’t do it at all. The head of state learned of it barely ten hours after his arrival in Dubai. He is accompanied by Catherine Colonna, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Sébastien Lecornu, in charge of the Armed Forces.
In this context, the world climate summit is likely to take a back seat. For the moment, there is no change in agenda for Emmanuel Macron. He still intends to carry out his parallel diplomatic program, taking advantage of being in Dubai, in the region, to meet the key players in the file. He must meet with Izaac Herzog, the Israeli president since the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is not there, also with Mohammed Ben Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, and the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
A dinner with the Emir of Qatar
For several weeks, Emmanuel Macron has been weighing his words. He spoke of a humanitarian truce leading to a ceasefire, after initially defending Israel’s right to defend itself. All this has led to the French president being accused of turning around, of changing his version. Its rhetoric is now accepted, France has also started treating wounded people from the Gaza Strip, notably on the Dixmude helicopter carrier.
The Head of State’s fear is also that the end of the truce will cause a “spill of oil” and that the conflict will spread to Lebanon, Iraq and even Yemen. And then there is of course, a few hours after the release of Mia Shem, the sprawling hostage file. It will also be discussed on Saturday December 2, in the evening, during a special stopover in Doha. Emmanuel Macron will have dinner with the Emir of Qatar, on the way back to Paris, after the COP.
Qatar is the country that negotiates with Hamas. The resumption of hostilities necessarily raises questions about the consequences it may have on these negotiations. During his previous tour, at the end of October, Emmanuel Macron passed through Israel and the West Bank but did not go to Qatar. The French president therefore corrects the situation this time. More than ever, Friday, December 1, the cards seem completely reshuffled in the diplomatic game.