France and several other Western nations formally declared their recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations on Monday in a move that deepens Israel’s international isolation as it pursues its maximalist war aims in Gaza and expands settlements in the occupied West Bank.

French official Pascal Confavreux defends U.N. Palestinian statehood initiative against Trump's criticism that it rewards Hamas for Oct. 7 attacks.

Even before the latest push, the majority of U.N. members recognized a Palestinian state. In 2012, it won U.N. observer-state status within the body by a vote of 138-9 with 41 abstentions, a diplomatic setback for the U.S. and Israel which opposed the move.

The disruption gave loud voice to widespread complaints that eight years of leadership by France’s business-friendly president have benefited too few people and hurt too many.

The row stems from a proposal by Gabriel Zucman, an economist, to tax wealth of over €100m ($117m) at 2% a year. This would touch the richest 1,800 households, a fraction of the 358,000 that paid the old wealth tax, abolished by President Emmanuel Macron in 2018. Mr Zucman says the tax could raise €15bn-25bn a year.

France became the latest Western nation to formally recognize Palestinian sovereignty, which remains a largely symbolic gesture. It was followed by calls for Israel to end the war in Gaza and stop its expansion of West Bank settlements.

French economist’s proposal to adopt a hefty wealth tax has strong support in poll as public finances deteriorate.

Bond investors are giving embattled French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu a chance to fix the nation’s finances, but their patience will only go so far.

Australia retained their mixed relay time trial crown at the road world championships in Kigali on Wednesday. The team, comprising three men and three women, finished the 41.8km course in 54 minutes, 30.47 seconds. France took silver, five seconds behind and Switzerland were third.

A family of three, including a small child, have become the first people to arrive in the U.K. from France under a new “one in, one out” exchange policy in which Britain returns migrants who enter the country without authorization and France sends