France, one of the founding states of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has dealt a harsh blow to the ICC by issuing a cryptic statement that it would grant immunity to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits France. This announcement could be interpreted by Israel as a kind of carte blanche to continue the war in Gaza. The ICC recently issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of the war in Gaza.
The announcement of the French Foreign Ministry undermines both the authority of the international judicial body and the arrest warrant itself. France clarified its position on the arrest warrant only after several confusing comments first stating it “will comply with its international obligations” and then insisting that one of the ICC rules allows immunity to such actions to non-member States. The French Foreign Ministry stated Israel enjoys such immunity as it is not an ICC member. The French position could be considered of being double standard in relation to ICC since it has not accorded such immunity to Russian President Vladimir Putin against whom the ICC had also issued an arrest warrant months back. By France’s logic, Putin should also be given immunity and not arrested if he sets his foot on French soil as Russia too is not an ICC member. The convoluted arguments of France have already evoked sharp reactions from both the European Union and Amnesty International. The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the arrest warrant is “binding” and should be implemented. Amnesty International termed France’s position as “deeply problematic” and urged it to state that anyone subject to an ICC warrant will be arrested and surrendered to the Court if they find themselves in French jurisdiction. A cornerstone principle of the ICC Statute, it emphasised, is that no one is above the law, including heads of state sought for arrest. Similarly, Andrew Stroehlein, European media director at Human Rights Watch, said on X that it was “shocking nonsense from France.” No one, he wrote, gets immunity from an ICC arrest warrant because they are in office — “not Netanyahu, not Putin.” Now, the question is why France has adopted such a controversial stance by interpreting provisions in the ICC Statute to suit its interests.
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The answer is President Emmanuel Macron does not want to throw away the advantage of getting a measure of international prestige by being one of the key players of the hard-fought ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon he and US President Joe Biden announced a few days back. France’s announcement of granting immunity to Netanyahu is being interpreted by experts in the backdrop of recurring tensions between the French and Israeli governments, following weeks of negotiations to secure the ceasefire in Lebanon. When the final stretch of these talks was being held in the last week of November, the ICC’s announcement of the arrest warrant was made. This strained the often acrimonious exchanges between Macron and Netanyahu so much that the latter reportedly asked the French President over the phone to deride the international court’s decision. Highly placed sources disclosed to the media that Netanyahu iterated a threat he had made in recent months to challenge France’s mediation efforts in Lebanon and exclude it from the committee overseeing a potential ceasefire.
Of course, both Beirut and Washington disapproved of Netanyahu’s purported threat and insisted, instead, on keeping Paris on board. This was apparently because the US and Lebanon calculated the presence of France in the ceasefire negotiations would accord respectability and acceptance of the process in the eye of the international community. However, by trying to do a balancing act, France has shown itself in a poor light. This is particularly sad when it has all the wherewithal needed to participate in the ceasefire process.
