France has abandoned international law to protect war criminals

The ICC was only meant for countries we don't like

In case you haven’t heard, France has essentially declared that Israeli officials are above international law in what must be the loudest saying the quiet part loud in history.

France has explained it will not enforce ICC arrest warrants against Putin and Gallant, despite initially saying it would respect the court’s decision. The sceptical among us never truly believed Israel’s allies would arrest Netanyahu and assumed they were frantically looking for wriggle room. Well, France has found its excuse and it’s as weak as it gets.

France argued that Israeli ministers shall remain immune while in office, but Gallant is no longer a government minister, yet France is still arguing he has immunity. I guess this means all Israeli politicians have immunity, including nutters like Smotrich and Ben Gvir.

Worryingly, Italy is looking at following France, and I assume other European countries are too, but for now, David Lammy is implying the UK would arrest Netanyahu, not that I believe him. He’s saying the decision would ultimately be for the courts, and I have no confidence that would be a credible legal process. Regardless, it’s irrelevant because Netanyahu won’t be visiting the UK any time soon.

People are suggesting that France has reluctantly made concessions to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon. Here’s the twist: the ceasefire was going ahead anyway, but France was pissed off that it was removed from the agreement, meaning it was not getting credit.

Netanyahu removed France from the agreement as revenge after France said it would respect the ICC arrest warrants. Therefore, France offered Netanyahu and Gallant immunity in exchange for restoring its name to the ceasefire agreement. France really broke international law for the sake of ego.

The ICC has already ruled that France’s rationale for giving war criminals immunity is bullshit in similar cases regarding Russia and Sudan. Needless to say, France cannot overrule the International Criminal Court. Article 27 of the Rome Statute states that all wanted persons are equal before the court and that includes members of a government.

France really just made up its own version of international law for Israel. Only problem is you could apply this imaginary law to Putin, al-Bashir, and Min Aung Hlaing too.

Just last month, the ICC ruled that Mongolia had violated its obligations by refusing to arrest Putin, using the same rationale that France is using for Netanyahu. You will be unsurprised to hear that France gave its full support to this ruling, making its current position all the more absurd. Is France ready to declare the Russian leader immune from prosecution, or are we admitting international law is only for countries we don’t like?

France’s position relies on Article 98 of the Rome Statute, but in the case of Putin and Mongolia, the court explained the article “refers only to acts of government activities which are typically conducted abroad and are protected by the safeguards on diplomatic immunity for certain officials and buildings”. It clarified that state immunity is for the state and its property, rather than leaders or officials.

Neither the immunity argument nor the lack of jurisdiction argument have any legal basis, but Israel is saying it will appeal the arrest warrants. How the hell does this work? If the police want to arrest me, I don’t notify them that I’m appealing that decision. I hand myself in, and if the prosecution goes ahead, I make my defence in court. This is called due process, something that is apparently beneath Israel.

France is now telling us it intends to continue working with the Netanyahu regime to achieve peace in the Middle East. Is it also going to work with Putin to achieve peace in Ukraine? Be under no illusion, the only reason for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is that the IDF was getting its arse kicked in southern Lebanon. Putting “Israel” and “peace” in the same sentence is like fucking for virginity.

France is pointing out it has a “close friendship” with Israel and the countries are “two democracies committed to the rule of law”. However, it looks more like the coloniser country that killed a million Algerians is staying true to form. Clearly, neither country is committed to the rule of law, and no one can sensibly call an apartheid state a democracy. France is essentially saying “Israel is my mate and I’ve said nice things about him, therefore he can murder whoever he likes”.

However, another explanation for France’s sudden U-turn is that these countries aren’t friends at all. One possibility is France’s leaders have been strong-armed by the US or blackmailed by Mossad. Regardless of whether France is willingly or unwillingly violating international law, it makes no difference. It is still sending out the message that the rules-based order is not about fairness but power.

The days of the West lecturing other countries on the rules-based order are coming to an end. All a country has to do is leave the ICC and pretend international law doesn’t apply to it. Just call yourself a democracy and call your enemies terrorists and it’s no big deal. Thing is, every country calls itself a democracy and calls its enemies terrorists. If France’s position is accepted, there is no international law. Our safeguards against war crimes and genocide are being eroded to protect the monsters on a blood-fuelled rampage.

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