2024-01-29 16:36:19
In recent weeks, France has been increasing its involvement in international attempts to help free the Israeli abductees in the Gaza Strip as part of an agreed solution between the parties. About two weeks ago, it was France that delivered the drugs intended for dozens of the Israeli abductees, who had been denied them until now after more than 114 days in captivity, and following a deal brokered together with Qatar. These days, Paris is hosting the summit of the intelligence chiefs of Israel, the US, Egypt and the Prime Minister of Qatar, for talks on a possible agreement to release all the abductees in stages in exchange for a cessation of hostilities.
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The state’s involvement, according to experts, reflects its attempt to revive the diplomatic power it had in the Middle East in the past, as well as ad hoc exploitation of its good ties with Qatar and a sincere desire to help the Israeli abductees, in order to try and contribute to calm in the region. French President Emmanuel Macron previously warned Iran and “factors” in Lebanon against an escalation of the situation, and assured his commitment to the release of the abductees from Gaza. At least two abductees in Gaza have French citizenship, according to the latest data.
President Macron’s confused policy
“There is a genuine desire on the French side to try and help the families and Israel on the issue of the abductees, from day one,” says Daniel Shek, former Israeli ambassador to France, and a member of the diplomatic team of the headquarters of the families of the abductees, who has been in contact with senior French officials in recent months. “They show human interest and great involvement right from the start,” he says. According to him, the fact that 42 French citizens were murdered on October 7 – “more than any other country” – and that some of them were initially considered to be kidnapped, increased the French motivation to help initially, but it remained high even when their fate became clear.
This desire was expressed in a slightly confused policy on the part of President Macron in the first weeks of the war. At first, the French president was in a hurry to get to Israel and even offered to expand the international coalition fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq to one that would also target Hamas. A few days later he already criticized the Israeli attacks and was the first among prominent European leaders to call for a ceasefire and urged Israel to “stop killing women and children”. “There is no justification for this,” he said, before trying to clarify things. After that, France supported the resolutions of the UN General Assembly regarding the need for a long-term ceasefire, which were opposed by Israel and the USA and some European countries.
Geopolitical considerations played a role in the French desire for a prominent role in the Middle East. “Macron is trying to present France as it was in the days of de Gaulle – as a fair mediator, as a powerful party that is able to bring the parties to sit down for negotiations,” Erdwan Amir-Aslani, a French security expert, told French Radio (RFI), who dealt with Middle East policy. De Gaulle was the one who took France out of NATO in the 1960s and tried to establish an independent security policy. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy returned it to the alliance in 2009, but France is still trying to present an independent, security and diplomatic path.
In this respect, Macron’s statements at the beginning of the war, including the one in which he warned Israel that it must define the objectives of the operation, or “fight for a decade against Hamas”, can be considered a “lip tax” that must be paid in order to place the country elsewhere on the axis of support for Israel, Compared to the US, Germany or the EU.
President Yitzhak Herzog in his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron / Photo: Reuters, Christophe Ena
This independent policy is also expressed in the refusal to join the American task force designed to protect maritime transport in the Red Sea (Operation “Guardian of Prosperity”), or to participate in the American-British attacks against the Houthis, who are acting in the name of solidarity with the Palestinians. France made it clear that “it will only protect ships with French interests”.
In the case of the transfer of the drugs, Sack reveals, it was the headquarters of the kidnapped families that involved France and turned to Paris for help, which was answered wholeheartedly and out of a genuine desire to help. “The French are the ones who managed the relationship with Qatar, at our request. No convincing was needed on their side,” he said. This involvement eventually also resulted in the fact that the drugs themselves were purchased in France and transferred from there and through Egypt to the Gaza Strip, along with the large amount of drugs that was agreed upon with Hamas as “compensation” for the residents of the Gaza Strip. It is not yet known if they reached their destination.
“The Qataris are very involved in the French economy”
The old ties between Qatar and France, which is considered perhaps the closest European country to the Gulf Emirates, now play a significant role. These good relations may also be what made Paris the venue for the international summit between the intelligence chiefs that took place on Sunday, and the place where the follow-up meetings are expected to take place.
“The relations between France and Qatar have been close for many decades, including mutual visits and arms deals,” says Ariel Admoni, a doctoral student who studies Qatar from Bar-Ilan University. “The Qataris are deeply involved in the French economy, including ownership of many businesses, real estate investments, football clubs and connections in the government,” says Shak. According to him, Sarkozy invited the former emir of Qatar to the annual military parade held in Paris on July 14, French Independence Day. “One of the Republic’s greatest badges of honor for foreign leaders.”
What levers of pressure are left for France?
But in fact, France does not have many levers of pressure left in the Middle East. The good ties with Qatar are among the last of them, along with the many ties and investments in Lebanon. “France can perhaps try and promote ‘goodwill diplomacy’ in the Middle East, but it completely lacks the military power required to become a meaningful mediator in the region,” said Amir-Aslani in an interview with RFI.
In addition, the situation in the Middle East and the French foreign policy in the region are also beginning to affect the internal politics and the social situation in the country. France is home to the largest Muslim community in Europe alongside the largest Jewish community in Europe. At the beginning of the war, the fear of the conflict in Gaza spilling over into the streets led the government to prohibit pro-Palestinian demonstrations by law. Alertness for fear of Islamic terrorist attacks is still high. The number of cases of anti-Semitism has quadrupled in the past year, according to the figures of the Supreme Council of Jews in France (Crif) published last week, when in fact most of them occurred in the last three months of the year.
In this respect, says Shek, the French government actually proved that it stands by the Jewish community. On February 7, there will be an official memorial day for the victims of the Hamas terrorist attack. “The French government is very friendly towards Israel now,” says Shek, “and the media in the country is also less critical than one would expect. Precisely in the current crisis, France can be defined as an ally of Israel.” The attempt to leverage its influence these days, says Shek, is evidence of this.
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