The following is the transcription of an interview with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-No-Noël Barrot who was broadcast on “Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan” on July 27, 2025.
Margaret Brennan: We are now turning to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean – Noël Barrot, who joins us this morning in Paris. Welcome to “Face The Nation”. I want to start what is happening in Gaza with these horrible images that we see from the famine overnight, Israel started aerial drops. We know that Jordan, other states seek to organize more help. Do you explore other paths to help Gaza?
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-No-Noël Barrot: what is happening in Gaza at the moment is appalling. Gaza is now on the verge of a complete disaster, and we worked, during the months, to try to relieve the sufferings of the Palestinian people. We actually have 52 tonnes of humanitarian aid wedged in El-Arish in Egypt, a few kilometers from Gaza. We therefore explore all the options to seize the opportunity offered by the Israeli government by opening the sky of Gaza, but we call immediate access, without hindrance and massive by all means of humanitarian aid to those who need it most.
Margaret Brennan: Did Israel respond to your calls?
: With the European Union, we started with difficult discussions with the Israeli government, which made the first commitments that have not yet been filled. In the coming days, the European Commission will clearly indicate what our expectations are. We expect the Israeli government to prevent the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation which caused Blood Bath in humanitarian aid to distribute lines in Gaza. We expect them to pay the 2 billion euros they owe to the Palestinian authority and to raise financial blocking which now prevents the Palestinian authority from implementing its most basic missions. We also expect the Israeli government to stop its latest settlement projects, the E1 projects with 3,400 dwellings that could divide the West Bank into two parts and prevent the emergence of a policy, a solution to two states. But what we ask is, of course, the immediate ceasefire, the release of the whole hostages of Hamas, which must be disarmed. And the entrance, the massive entry, of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Margaret Brennan: You head for New York, at the United Nations, to help direct a summit to talk about a two -state solution. Your president has announced that France will officially recognize Palestine’s state in the UN in September. More than 100 countries recognize Palestine, but France is the first member of the United Nations Council in the West to do so, and the United States oppose what you say. Secretary of State Rubio called him “reckless”. He says he serves Hamas’ propaganda, withdraws peace and considers it “a slap in front of the victims of October 7.” In the opinion of your government, why is it wrong?
: So, the reason why President Macron made this decision is that it was absolutely necessary to restart a political process, the process of solution of the two states which was today threatened, more threatened than it has been. And the conference that will take place in New York tomorrow and Tuesday is a very important step, because by recognizing or announcing the recognition of Palestine, France has been, alongside Saudi Arabia, which will be co-president of this conference with the United States, in favor of the state solution and guarantee of the Palestinian Authority, in favor of the two state solutions, and guarantees the security of the Palestinian. The solution of the two states is very simple, and I think that everyone can understand what we mean by that. The only way to bring peace and stability in this region to have two states, the state of Israel and the state of Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. This perspective is now threatened, and that is why the dynamics we have initiated was so important, and that is why the conference that will take place in New York is such an important step. All these efforts are very, very complementary to the efforts that the United States has made in the region since President Trump’s first term. We share the short-term objective: immediate cease-fire, release of all the hostages of Hamas which must be disarmed. We share the long -term objective: peace and stability in the region. And what we do, by bringing the leader of the Palestinian authority to recognize on October seventh as a terrorist attack, by calling Hamas – disarmament – for the disarmament of Hamas and by engaging in the elections in a year, bringing the deep reform of the Palestinian the solution which, once again, is the only way to follow, and we open the way. We pave the way to the future Abraham according to the American administration. I therefore consider our efforts to be very complementary to the effort of the American administration, rather than substitutes.
Margaret Brennan: Minister Barrot, the President of the United States rejected what President Macron said, the American ambassador laughed. Do you think your plans can succeed without American support?
: Again, our efforts are very complementary. We share the short-term objective, the ceasefire, the release of all the hostages of Hamas and the long-term objective, peace and stability in the region. In fact, we will welcome all other efforts by the United States to implement the Abraham Agreement logics. And what we are doing now with this very important conference which will take place in New York will open the way to such agreements. But in the meantime, until the American administration provides, through the logics of agreement Abraham, a political horizon for this crisis, we must act in order to facilitate – or create a deactivated ramp for the current disaster in Gaza. Now, the terms, we will welcome and support the future Abraham agreements, but in the meantime, inaction is not an option.
Margaret Brennan: I want to ask you briefly questions on an incident that attracted a lot of attention last week involving young French citizens who were withdrawn from a flight from Spain. The airline claims to have been launched for having been disruptive. The Israeli government was released and said that French students had been removed because they are Jewish. Have you determined whether it was an act of anti-Semitism?
: I called the CEO of this company, which has to express our – our serious concern. She confirmed that an internal investigation was underway. My team contacted the Spanish ambassador to France, and we made the same request. We will continue to follow this situation because it takes place
Margaret Brennan: Too early to say, despite what the Israeli government indicates.
: I cannot comment on this at this stage. We have taken measures as soon as we did, you know, as we pointed out what was going on, we offered on -site support through our embassy of this group. We then contacted the airline, to the Spanish authorities, and we now follow the results of these investigations.
Margaret Brennan: France has been very diplomatically active on a number of fronts. Only five weeks ago, the United States and Israel bombed Iran. Since then, France has spoken to the Iranian government, as well as other European powers, of what remains of the Iranian nuclear program. To what extent are you worried that after these attacks, Iran can now secretly try to make a weapon, and the world will not know?
: It is always a risk that we face, and alongside Germany and the United Kingdom, we have been very clear, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and we have been, in recent months, to reach out to the Iranian authority in close coordination with the American authorities in order to express our expectations. Ten years ago, we concluded an agreement on the nuclear program which allowed a significant decline in Iranian nuclear capacity. Of course, things have changed. Still at the time, and since then, Iran violated all the commitments it had made at the time of the signing of this agreement. We now want a more complete agreement that would include both the nuclear dimension of Iranian destabilization activities, but it is also the ballistic component, as well as the regional destabilization activities that Iran has conducted, unless we have a new and another agreement, another choice, when France and the Boyaume Nuclear Agreement with Iran has been signed, on -the -arms, and on banking services.
Margaret Brennan: France is therefore ready to resume sanctions against Iran in August. Ask Iran to speak directly in the United States to avoid this spell?
: We spoke with a special Witkoff envoy, Secretary Rubio, on a weekly basis on this subject which is very important for the United States, as for Europeans. We have supported the efforts led by the United States to participate in discussions with Iran. We have pressed Iran, after the 12-day war, to return to a discussion with the United States, and we will continue to support them to do so, because indeed, if there is no solid agreement which can be found at the end of August, we will have no choice but to resume, which means to reapplicate these global embar, and we are ready to do so.
Margaret Brennan: Minister Barrot, thank you very much for your time this morning.