By Iqbal Jassat
An online French media platform FocusMedia_Fr has not only objected to the Macron government’s corridor of immunity for Israel’s war criminal Netanyahu, but also questioned how much longer will Paris open its skies to a man targeted by international justice?
In its exposure of the Macron regime’s double standards, revealed that since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on November 21, 2024 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, Netanyahu continues to cross French airspace.
Details of the duplicity record a pattern of open defiance by France of its obligations under international humanitarian law.
Shockingly Aeronautical data (Flightradar24, FlightAware) lists at least six overflights of the official Wing of Zion aircraft with the green light from Paris: February, April, July and December 2025, then February and July 2026.
To evade responsibility, France leans on legal evasion provided by an oxymoron concept known as Quai d’Orsay.
As for the phrase “legal evasion” regarding the Quai d’Orsay, we learn that the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
typically refers to diplomatic maneuvering, leveraging immunities, or the strategic interpretation of international law to bypass restrictive domestic or foreign legal constraints.
According to FocusMedia_Fr, to justify these authorizations, France argues that the Rome Statute does not require the interception of an aircraft in flight and that the obligation to arrest a suspect only applies if he sets foot on national soil.
We learn also that this deceptive interpretation is contested by many legal experts.
“Under the Chicago Convention (1944), airspace falls under the total sovereignty of the State.
Granting authorization for diplomatic overflights is a deliberate political act. By entering into these agreements, France is effectively creating a corridor of impunity for an ICC suspect”.
Clearly a case of double standard, for by hiding behind convoluted legal arguments, France cannot claim to possess any diplomatic credibility.
I concur with the reasoning by FocusMedia_Fr, that France is unable to claim to be defending universal justice on the one hand, while facilitating the movement of Netanyahu – a war criminal – under investigation and wanted by the ICC.
The consequences of granting unhindered overflight, sends a “disastrous signal”, explains FocusMedia_Fr.
Faced with political alliances, international arrest warrants remain stuck on the ground.
Iqbal Jassat
Executive Member
Media Review Network
Johannesburg
South Africa