French President Emmanuel Macron hopes to reinvigorate his Middle East policy after some reckless initiatives failed to gain traction, Politico reports.
The president needs all the possible assistance, especially from his own diplomatic service, to salvage France’s influence in the region. But his relationship with French diplomats has been uneasy, with officials regularly complaining of being kept on the sidelines. Anonymous reports to the press suggest diplomats are hostile to Macron’s approach towards the Middle East.
Earlier this month, Macron called on Israel to stop its retaliatory bombing campaign against Hamas because it was killing “ladies” and “babies.” Following the Israeli government’s response, the president was forced to contact the country’s leadership to clarify his statements.
One French diplomat characterised the French stance as “one day pro-Israeli” and “the next [day] pro-Palestinian.”
Diplomats feel that if they were consulted beforehand, we wouldn’t need to re-balance the French position.
The diplomats were disappointed by Macron’s proposal to retool the anti-ISIS coalition to fight Hamas. According to Jean-Loup Samaan, a Middle East researcher with the French Institute for International Relations, Arab countries took it as a suggestion that Western countries join the Israeli military in bombing Hamas.
“France’s diplomatic posture is unclear, and suffers from the same issues as its Ukraine policy: It’s a balancing act, with nuances, that is often misunderstood, and irritates both camps.”
Macron has been on the phone in recent days, coordinating calls with regional leaders to push for humanitarian aid and a political solution for the Palestinians. France wants to play a role in the talks, but it will have to correct missteps in such countries as Lebanon.
Hours after the announcement, the French president issued a clarification, calling the initiative simply an “inspired” coalition against ISIS. The coalition idea was later silently dismissed due to Israel’s lack of interest in forming a security coalition.
Following this misstep, Macron announced that France was sending a hospital ship to support Gaza’s medical services, before it was revealed that the French-sent ship did not have enough beds.
French diplomats also disagreed with Macron’s stance on Israel’s war against Hamas, which was seen at home as too pro-Israeli. The document was written by diplomats belonging to the North Africa and Middle East department and criticises how France’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war is perceived in the region, two diplomats familiar with the document stated.
Former French Ambassador to Israel Gérald Araud claimed during a parliamentary committee hearing last week:
Ambassadors are allowed to criticise. It’s an internal note, written by ambassadors, it’s not a takedown job, and has a lot of nuances.
However, such criticism is unusual for France, whose foreign policy is seen as the privileged domain of the president.
“The diplomatic service is upset by the fact that France’s Near East policy is decided by three people inside the Elysée Palace.”
This latest incident comes amid a fraught relationship between Macron and his diplomatic service, with the president favouring more direct diplomatic routes and at times criticising France’s own “deep state.” Having received warning signals from French diplomats, Macron has gradually adopted a more critical stance towards Israel and has joined calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
In addition to his appeal for an end to the bombing, the French president organised an international conference on aid to Gaza in mid-November. Over the weekend, he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pressure him over the “too high” death toll among Palestinian civilians.
This is not Macron’s first involvement in Middle East politics. In 2020, he promised to offer former French colony Lebanon a “new political pact” after a devastating bomb blast in Beirut that killed more than 200 people.
There’s a question of credibility, Macron wasn’t able to achieve anything in Lebanon, which was announced as a top priority three years ago. Nothing happened.
