Jakarta. French President Emmanuel Macron recently told a delegation of Muslim-majority countries that France has “no double standards” on the catastrophic Israel-Gaza conflict.

Macron hosted Wednesday local time a visit by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers in Paris. France became the fourth stop of OIC’s diplomatic tour that aimed to garner support from United Nations (UN) Security Council permanent members. 

According to a clip of the meeting shown on Macron’s official account on the social media platform X, he had told the OIC delegation about France’s stance on the war. The French president said Paris condemned militant Hamas’ attack against Israel on Oct. 7. While France recognizes Israel’s right to self-defend, the European country condemns the killing of civilians.

“We condemn the bombing of civilians and civilian infrastructures. Because there are no double standards for France,” Macron said.

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi revealed more details on the meeting -- which she said lasted for quite a while -- in a separate press statement.

“The [OIC] ministers welcome President Macron’s statement on how ‘there are no double standards for France’. The ministers hope France will use its influence to persuade other countries not to have double standards on the Palestine issue. The OIC ministers also called for a permanent ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian assistance,” Retno said.

The OIC diplomats also held a separate meeting with their French counterpart Catherine Colonna. According to Retno, the group told Colonna that it wants to see the UN Security Council pass a resolution -- particularly on humanitarian assistance -- that is more powerful and comprehensive. 

Earlier this week, the OIC delegation had stopped by China, Russia, and the UK -- all permanent members of the UN Security Council. However, France was the only country out of the four to have its president host the OIC ministers. In past meetings, the OIC representatives only met their fellow foreign ministers -- China’s Wang Yi, Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, and the UK’s David Cameron. The OIC is skipping a visit to the US despite also assuming a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.

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