French lawmakers vote to recognise Palestinian state
(AGI) Paris, Dec 2 - French lawmakers on Tuesday passed anon-binding motion to recognise Palestine as a state. FrenchMPs voted 339 to 151 for the measure, which followed similarinitiatives taken by the UK and Spain, while Switzerland wasthe first European country to officially recognise thePalestinian state by the end of October. The French motion wasbacked by most socialists and other left-wing parties, whilemost conservatives of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP)and Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) voted against themove. The Israeli embassy in Paris responded to the vote saying