PARIS
French lawmakers are set to hold a symbolic vote on a resolution calling for the French government to recognize the state of Palestine on Tuesday.
The resolution, proposed by the Socialist group, will take place just days before the French Senate votes on a similar measure. That vote is scheduled for Dec. 11.
On Friday, as the French National Assembly debated the resolution, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France will recognize Palestine as a state if peace efforts fail.
"If this last attempt at negotiation does not succeed, France will assume its responsibilities by recognizing the state of Palestine," Fabius said.
He added that he supports the measure, but "by the end of 2016 based on a UN Security Council resolution."
"France recognizes the State of Palestine; it is not a favor, it is a right," Fabius said. "France is a friend of the Israeli people and the Palestinian people. France will recognize the State of Palestine. The question is when and how? Because it is necessary that this recognition should be useful to the efforts to break the deadlock and to contribute to achieving a final settlement of this conflict."
Most socialist deputies and senators are expected to vote in favor of the resolution. Only a few dozen of the chamber's 289 members are expected to vote against the measure.
On the right, the Union for Popular Movement "intends not to vote," announced Christian Jacob, leader of the party's deputies. On Tuesday morning, however, he said the party's deputies were debating "either non-participation or voting against."
Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy, who just returned to the scene as chief of the Union for Popular Movement following a two-year political hiatus, has urged deputies from his party to vote against the motion.
The National Front, a far-right party, said it will vote to recognize a Palestinian state.
"We are for the recognition of two states who recognize each other, both living in security, on the condition that the Palestinian state recognizes Israel and its fight against terrorism, which is not always the case today," the party's vice president, Louis Aliot, told the French daily Le Figaro.
The French parliament is made up of two chambers, the National Assembly, the lower house which has the final say in drafting legislation, and the Senate, which is the upper house.
Europe: Wave of symbolic recognition
Europe has lately been swept by a wave of support for Palestinian statehood, even as the peace process remains deadlocked.
The European Parliament had been scheduled to vote on a motion recognizing Palestine on Nov. 27, but because of disagreements over the wording of the motion, the decision was postponed to Dec.18, according to a European Parliament press release.
The resolution, which was proposed by the left-wing European United Left and the Socialists and Democrats parliamentary groups, is expected to pass, despite Israeli efforts to block it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said European recognition of a Palestinian state would be "a big mistake for peace," but EU officials disagree.
"We are the leading trade partner for Israel, and we are the leading donor for the Palestinian Authority," said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. "We can be the leading political player in the region and we can facilitate dialogue that has to take place directly between the Israelis and the Palestinians."
She said a Palestinian state could only exist if Israeli security was also guaranteed.
Gianni Pittella, the president of the Socialists and Democrats parliamentary group, called on all EU member states to recognize Palestine, stating that recognition was absolutely in line with the decision taken by the UN General Assembly in 2012.
In October, Sweden became the first EU country to recognize Palestine.
The U.K. and Spanish parliaments, as well as the Irish Senate, have also all delivered non-binding endorsements, reflecting growing frustration with the sputtering Israel-Palestine peace process.
Denmark’s lawmakers will debate a similar motion in December and other parliaments are expected to vote on similar resolutions in the coming weeks, including the Danish, Italian, Slovenian and Portuguese legislatures.
More than 130 countries have now recognized Palestine as a state.
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