Barrot’s Gaza claim: A shameless rewrite of history

Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s outgoing Foreign Minister, took to X Sunday to claim France “opened the way” for the U.S. peace plan in Gaza, securing hostage releases and a ceasefire. 

This is a bald-faced lie. Far from leading, France actively undermined President Trump’s 20-point blueprint, which has driven real progress: phased ceasefires, Israeli withdrawals, and imminent hostage releases.

Barrot’s revisionism is laughable. While Trump strong-armed Netanyahu and Qatar into alignment, France pushed a rival French-Saudi plan, sidelining Israel and the U.S. with a 142-nation coalition fixated on premature Palestinian statehood. 

Barrot’s October 2 demand for Hamas’s “surrender” muddied delicate talks, and French lobbying delayed Arab buy-in, prolonging the crisis. 

Le Monde and The New York Times exposed Paris’s ego-driven meddling, which U.S. officials, including Marco Rubio, barely concealed their frustration over.

This isn’t new for Barrot, whose tenure has been a masterclass in missteps – from Gaza evacuation scandals to alienating Israel. 

With France crumbling under economic woes and riots, his X post is a desperate grab for relevance, cloaking domestic failure in fake diplomatic triumphs. 

The hostages, still suffering, deserve better than Barrot’s spin. Trump’s deal, not France’s posturing, is delivering. 

History won’t buy Barrot’s fairy tale.