Israel’s envoy to Paris, Mordechai Gazit, said yesterday that he saw some improvement of late in the French position on the Mideast conflict. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, the Ambassador cited French leaders’ reversion recently to the term “patrie”–homeland–when discussing Palestinian rights. In the past France had been much more specific–and more objectionable, from Israel’s viewpoint–explicitly demanding an “independent state” for the Palestinians.
Similarly, Gazit said, French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing and his Foreign Minister, Louis de Guiringaud, no longer spoke of Israeli withdrawal from “all the territories” but instead urged “withdrawal from the territories–excepting mutually agreed minor adjustments.”
The Gazit interview was published on the eve of an official visit here by de Guiringaud. Officials said last night that the visit would take place despite earlier rumors of its postponement following the French Cabinet’s resignation and reshuffle.
ELEMENTS OF SHIFT NOTED
Gazit said the shift for the better began in 1976 and would have become apparent earlier had it not been for the Abu Daoud affair last January which put a severe strain on Franco-Israeli relations. There were “ups and downs” during 1976, he said, with de Guiringaud, then Ambassador to the UN, specifically demanding at the Security Council in June an independent state for the Palestinians.
In recent weeks, however, the content of French pronouncements significantly softened, and de Guiringaud, on a tour of Arab capitals in February, deliberately used the term “patrie” on every occasion and stressed that it was capable of various forms of realization. Gazit said that the “interesting shift” for the better resulted from Giscard’s personal involvement in policymaking.
Gazit said bilateral ties were good and 1977 promised to be a record year for French tourism to Israel. El Al is predicting business of 150,000-plus, up 35 percent over last year. Gazit said, however, that it was unrealistic for Israel to hope for a change in the “basic economic reality” which is that France is heavily dependent on Arab oil and ran a $4 billion annual deficit in its overall trade with the Arabs. It was this reality which caused France’s “hypersensitivity” towards the Arabs.
Israel, Gazit said, could constantly seek to change the attitude of hypersensitivity but could not change the causes of it. He hoped the shifts he detected in French positions would have practical reflections in votes at UN forums and in France’s conduct on Mideast issues within the European Economic Community.
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