France rejects recognizing Palestinian state at present

France's Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné has rejected the idea of recognizing Palestine as a state at the present time.

"Our position is clear: the recognition of Palestine is not taboo for France," said the minister on Wednesday after a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz in Paris.

However, the decision in favour of recognition must be beneficial, which means that it enables decisive progress at a political level, Séjourné said, stressing it has to be made at the right time.

"It is not just a symbolic question or a question of political positioning, but a diplomatic instrument in the service of a solution with two states living side by side in peace and security," said the French foreign minister.

"France does not believe that the conditions have been met to date for this decision to have a real impact on this process."

Earlier on Wednesday Norway, Ireland and Spain said they would recognize Palestine as a state on May 28.

Katz's visit to Paris follows France's positioning in favour of the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose chief prosecutor applied for arrest warrants on Monday against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and three leaders of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, including Yehya al-Sinwar, who leads Hamas in Gaza.

The Paris Foreign Ministry stated that it supports the ICC, its independence and the fight against impunity in all situations.

After the meeting with Katz, Séjourné wrote on X: "I reaffirmed France's priorities: immediate release of the hostages, ceasefire, massive humanitarian aid and two states living in peace and security."