The history of France’s presence in West Asia goes back to the secret agreement between Britain and France called the “Sykes-Picot” or Asia Minor Agreement, which was signed on May 9, 1916 during World War I and with Russia’s consent to partition. The Ottoman Empire was divided and led to the formation of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine between France and Britain.
These areas were previously under Ottoman Turkish control, and now, 104 years after the agreement, France is once again dreaming of being in the area.
“Emmanuel Macron” is thinking of taking advantage of the catastrophic event of the terrible explosion in the port of Beirut, which has not been able to respond to the large number of protesters against its socio-economic policies inside the country for the past year and a half.
France was the first Western country to react to the bombing of the port of Beirut and immediately sought to regain its influence in the Lebanese political arena with political support and the promise of financial aid to Lebanon.
Given the challenges facing Lebanese political currents, deep economic problems, government corruption, and the devaluation of the national currency, France’s return to Lebanon has been relatively welcomed, and even the resistance has so far not objected to France’s promise of aid.
Although Lebanon’s Hezbollah secretary general implicitly criticized the silence of the country’s pro-Western political currents in response to Macron’s interventionist rhetoric of political reform, he welcomed any attempt by political groups to converge to form a government quickly.
France is interested in being more influential in the Lebanese political process than in the past, and this situation led Macron to take a direct and pragmatic approach to current Lebanese issues.
One of the features of France’s new approach is to take into account the realities on the ground and to pursue a realistic policy towards Lebanon, which is very different from the approach of other Western countries, especially the United States.
France intends to fill Washington’s vacancy in the region with the green light of the White House in the shadow of the gradual withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and Syria and the rise of anti-American sentiment in Lebanon, and is working to support the Islamic Republic of Iran’s position on In the face of JCPOA and opposition to US efforts to extend arms embargoes on Iran at the UN Security Council, seek the support of Iran as an influential player in the region.
On the other hand; In recent months, with the marginalization of terrorist groups and the defeat of the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria, Paris has launched new efforts to increase its influence in West Asia, including Macron’s recent visit to Iraq.
As much as Macron seems to be making the most of the bombing of the port of Beirut to advance its regional ambitions, it is trying to take advantage of the possible withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. In the current context, Macron wants to play a more serious role in the future development of Iraq as a Western power with a historic presence in West Asia.
The continuation of France’s new policy in the region will, of course, be closely linked to Trump’s fate in the upcoming US election, as Macron’s stance on Hezbollah’s role in the Lebanese government is in clear contradiction with that of the US and Zionist regime.
In the face of injustice in this country, it has a shaky position among French voters.
Accordingly, in light of the decline of US hegemony in the world, we are witnessing strategic changes in the region, from the unusual acceleration of Arab sheikhs in West Asia to normalize relations with the Zionist regime to welcome the post-Trump situation to the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and the presence of France. Included in the area.
To this list, of course, must be added the US effort to mediate between different countries in order to negotiate with Iran, which has so far failed due to the resistance of the people to the crushing pressures caused by the sanctions.
Many analysts believe that the coming months are crucial for West Asia, and that if the nations of the region, from Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria to Iran, have patience and insight, one can expect great victories for the nations of West Asia.