Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
The world got so used to Jacques Chirac’s 12-year reign over France’s Middle East policy that Nicolas Sarkozy’s entry en scene inevitably caused a stir… On Syria, Lebanon and virtually all the sacred cows of the Chirac era–above all the immutable backing of France for the Palestinians–Sarkozy and his new government have been ploughing new furrows and making new waves. Building on Sarkozy’s own pro-Israel credentials, Kouchner was in Jerusalem in mid-September to volunteer French help to re-launch peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. Even the French daily Le Figaro read this as an undisguised attempt to secure French participation in the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference planned for November. …
What underlies this flurry of activity? On one level, the Sarkozy establishment is trying to … reposition themselves collectively in a new relationship with the U.S. over the Middle East. …
Will it work? Not if Sarkozy’s team continues to neglect the details and impact of what it is proposing to do in a region replete with skin-deep sensitivities and long memories… [However] he [also] challenged other Europeans to sit up and take note of what needs fixing in the EU’s current laissez-faire approach. If Sarkozy succeeds in convincing the U.S. that the days of French opposition based on principle are gone, then there could indeed be room for more constructive EU engagement in a more pluralistic Middle East than is possible under U.S. hegemony alone. Access the full article>>