France Polarized by Parliament's Vote to Recognize Palestinian Statehood

The French National Assembly voted 339 to 151 on Tuesday in favor of a motion to recognize Palestine as a state. The lower house of the French parliament passed the symbolic motion, which urges France's socialist government to "recognize the Palestinian state, in order to bring about a definitive resolution of the conflict," between Palestinians and Israelis.

France's vote echoed several other European countries — including Sweden, Britain, and Spain — who have recently passed similar recommendations.

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— infos140 (@infos140)2 Décembre 2014

The resolution, initiated by the ruling socialist party, was backed by an overwhelming majority of socialist and green party deputies, as well as by representatives of the Left Front, an electoral coalition formed in 2009 by the communist party and the left party. A majority of deputies from the UMP conservative party voted against the motion.

As French lawmakers voted on the motion, some 150 pro-Israeli demonstrators gathered outside parliament in protest. Among them were politicians of all political persuasions, including conservative deputy Claude Goasguen, who is known for making controversial remarks about Palestine, including a suggestion that Muslims have "massacred tens of thousands in the silence of Western democracies."

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Protesters of all ages chanted the French and Israeli national anthems, brandishing signs that read, "Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East," and "Jerusalem, Toulouse, Bruxelles: terrorists are everywhere," in reference to recent terror attacks in Israel, France, and Belgium. One of the protesters, a 69-year-old retired teacher who would only give her first name, Nancy, told VICE News she thought the resolution was "stupid."

The recognition of Palestinian statehood is a delicate issue in France, which has a the largest Jewish population in Europe, as well as a sizable Muslim community. In an article published in March 2014, French daily Le Figaro reported that the number of French Jews making aliyah — emigrating from the diaspora to Israel — has skyrocketed over the past few years. In the article, a spokesperson for France's Jewish Agency for Israel mentioned the growing "sense of insecurity" felt by the country's Jewish community.

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Several young people from the Jewish Defense League (JDL) — a Jewish far-right militant organization on the FBI's terrorist list — and from the Zionist youth movement Betar were also marching Tuesday. Many of the youths were masked, waving flags, and giving cops the finger. In a tweet published after the vote, the JDL compared the deputies who had voted in favor of Palestinian statehood to Nazi collaborators.

TOUT EST DIT. — LDJ Paris (@LDJ_France)2 Décembre 2014

"The vote clearly demonstrates the French parliament's position," Bruno Le Roux, the socialist party's parliamentary leader, said. "It brings together many groups, and translates into an act of hope and desire for peace."

The motion passed by the lower house of parliament is still only recommendation to the rest of the French government — France has not formally recognized Palestinian statehood.

Speaking to deputies ahead of Tuesday's vote, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said official government recognition is on the table.

"This is something we are prepared to do," he said.

The UK has voted to recognize Palestine as a state. Read more here.

On November 23, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that, "French recognition of a Palestinian state would be a grave mistake." In a statement published Tuesday, the Israeli embassy in Paris weighed in on the vote, saying it sent "the wrong message to leaders and people from the region [of Israel]."

Aside from these reactions, the announcement of the resolution has been largely ignored by the Israeli government, which is currently in the midst of a serious political crisis. Netanyahu fired two of his political rivals Tuesday, the country's centrist finance and justice ministers. He also called for the dissolution of parliament, and hinted at an early general election. Many believe this recent wave of political change will push the country's coalition government even further to the right.

The Palestinian Authority was unavailable for comment on Wednesday when contacted by VICE News.

The UN Security Council is currently considering a draft resolution that calls for Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territory by 2016, and retreat to its pre-1967 borders.

Several European states have already spoken out in favor of Palestinian statehood. In October, Sweden became the first EU member state in western Europe to recognize Palestine as a state, followed closely by Britain and Spain. Of the UN's 193 member countries, 135 have officially recognized Palestinian statehood.

Follow Virgile Dall'Armellina on Twitter : @armellina