France backs U.N. boost for Palestinian Authority

PARIS — France said Tuesday it will support an elevated status for the Palestinian Authority at the United Nations, the first major European power to endorse such an action by the U.N. General Assembly.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said his country would vote in favor of “non-member observer status” for the Palestinians at an assembly meeting Thursday.

The vote comes a year after the Palestinian Authority failed to secure full state membership, an effort that was blocked by the Obama administration.

Fabius, speaking to the National Assembly — the country’s lower house of parliament — said that France, one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, had held a “consistent position” on the issue.

“We will vote with coherence and clarity. You know that for years and years France’s consistent position has been the recognition of the Palestinian state,” he said.

“That is why when the question is raised on Thursday and Friday, France will respond with a ‘yes.’ ”

The move would not give the Palestinian Authority full membership in the General Assembly, but is seen as implicit recognition of statehood and could allow for membership in bodies including the International Criminal Court in The Hague, in which the Palestinian Authority could file complaints against Israel.

The Palestinian Authority’s draft resolution calls on the Security Council to “consider favorably” its request for full membership.