Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin Tells Interview, End the Cycle of Revenge
Dominique de Villepin described the “traps” we set for ourselves of vengeance which begets more vengeance, in the Oct. 27 interview with BFM TV. One of those traps, he says “Occidentalism … the idea that the West, which for five centuries managed the world’s affairs, will be able to quietly continue to do so.” Another trap he says, is “moralism … this double standard that is denounced everywhere in the world, including in recent weeks when I travel to Africa, the Middle East, or Latin America.”
When his BFM interviewer tries to defend the Israelis, de Villepin asks her: “Are we going to kill the future by finding the wrong answers? You are in a game of cause and effect. Faced with the tragedy of history, one cannot take this ‘chain of causality’ analytical grid, simply because if you do, you can’t escape it.” He notes that both the Palestinian cause and Zionism have changed: “The Palestinian cause was a political and secular cause. Today we are faced with an Islamist cause, led by Hamas. Obviously, this kind of cause is absolute and allows no form of negotiation. On the Israeli side, Zionism was secular and political, championed by Theodor Herzl in the late 19th century. It has largely become messianic, Biblical today. This means that they, too, do not wish to compromise, and everything that the far-right Israeli government does in continuing to encourage colonialism obviously makes things worse, including since Oct. 7.”
BFM asked him: “Yes, but whose fault is it?” He replied: “I am trained as a diplomat. The question of fault will be addressed by historians and philosophers…. I am not neutral, I am taking action. I am simply telling you that every day, we can ensure that this horrific cycle stops.”
He also comments that “The war on terror has never been won anywhere. And instead it triggers extremely tragic misdeeds, cycles, and escalations,” as shown by the failed U.S. wars fought under the mask of a “war on terror.”
“The Israeli policy over recent years did not necessarily seek to cultivate a Palestinian leadership.... Many are in prison, and Israel’s interest—because I repeat, it was not in their program or in Israel’s interest at the time, or so they thought—was instead to divide the Palestinians and ensure that the Palestinian question would fade. This Palestinian question will not fade.
“The law of retaliation is an unending cycle. That’s why we must defend the political response. Israel has a right to self-defense, but this right cannot be indiscriminate vengeance.”
He concludes: “The debate today is about action: We must act. And when you think about action, there are two options. Either it’s war, war, war. Or it’s about trying to move towards peace, and I’ll say it again, that’s in Israel’s interest. That’s in Israel’s interest!”
