France keeps quiet about arresting Putin after Netanyahu warrant drama
French officials stay vague on their plans to follow ICC warrants for both Putin and Netanyahu. The countryʼs stance on arresting world leaders becomes unclear as legal immunity questions surface
Frances legal position on international arrest warrants got more complex after ICCʼs recent moves. The court issued warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and a Hamas leader about a week ago‚ while Vladimir Putin already has one since early-2024 (for taking Ukrainian kids to Russia)
The EU member-stateʼs stance became super-confusing: they said Netanyahu has immunity cause Israel didnt sign ICC rules‚ but when asked about Putin – whose country also isnt part of ICC – officials got real quiet. Christophe Lemoine‚ the French foreign-ministry guy made some head-scratching comments: “our position is basically the same for both cases‚“ he said
With regard to Vladimir Putin all those who committed crimes‚ there is no impunity. They have to be held responsible for their deeds‚ and we have always said that weʼll apply international law in all its aspects
The whole immunity thing is getting super-tricky; hereʼs what makes it complicated:
- Both Russia and Israel arent ICC members
- France has to follow ICC rules as an EU country
- Different countries see immunity rules differently
- Head-of-state protection laws are not clear-cut
The ministry keeps dancing around the question - would they actually arrest these leaders if they showed up in Paris? Their answer: its a complex legal thing (and theyʼre clearly not ready to make that call)
