in 1920 France established relations with the Middle East during the reign of
Louis XIV. To keep
Austria from intervening into its plans regarding Western Europe he lent limited support to the
Ottoman Empire, though the victories of
Prince Eugene of Savoy destroyed these plans. In the nineteenth century France together with Great Britain tried to strengthen the Ottoman Empire, the now "
Sick man of Europe", to resist Russian expansion, culminating in the
Crimean War. France also pursued close relations with the semi-autonomous Egypt. In 1869 Egyptian workers -under the supervision of France- completed the
Suez Canal. A rivalry emerged between France and Britain for control of Egypt, and eventually Britain emerged victorious by buying out the Egyptian
shares of the company before the French had time to act. After the unification of Germany in 1871, Germany successfully attempted to co-opt France's relations with the Ottomans. In
World War I the Ottoman Empire joined the
Central Powers, and was defeated by France and Britain. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire France and Britain divided the Middle East between themselves. France received Syria and Lebanon.
1945–1958 hit during the initial
Anglo-French assault on Egypt, 5 November 1956. These colonies were granted independence after 1945, but France still tried to forge cultural and educational bonds between the areas, particularly with Lebanon. Relationships with Syria are more strained, due to the policies of that country. In 2005, France, along with the United States, pressured Syria to evacuate Lebanon. In the post-World War II era French relations with the Arab Middle East reached a very low point. The
war in Algeria between Muslim fighters and French colonists deeply concerned the rest of the Muslim world. The Algerian fighters received much of their supplies and funding from Egypt and other Arab powers, much to France's displeasure. Most damaging to Franco-Arab relations, however, was the
Suez Crisis. It greatly diminished France's reputation in the region. France openly supported the Israeli attack on the
Sinai Peninsula, and was working against
Nasser, then a popular figure in the Middle East. The Suez Crisis also made France and the United Kingdom look again like imperialist powers attempting to impose their will upon weaker nations. Another hindrance to France's relations with the Arab Middle East was its close alliance with Israel during the 1950s.
De Gaulle's policies This all changed with the coming of
Charles de Gaulle to power. De Gaulle's foreign policy was centered around an attempt to limit the power and influence of both superpowers, and at the same time increase France's international prestige. De Gaulle hoped to move France from being a follower of the United States to becoming the leading nation of a large group of non-aligned countries. The nations de Gaulle looked at as potential participants in this group were those in France's traditional spheres of influence: Africa and the Middle East. The former French colonies in eastern and northern Africa were quite agreeable to these close relations with France. These nations had close economic and cultural ties to France, and they also had few other suitors amongst the major powers. This new orientation of French foreign policy also appealed strongly to the leaders of the Arab nations. None of them wanted to be dominated by either of the superpowers, and they supported France's policy of trying to balance the US and the
USSR and to prevent either from becoming dominant in the region. The Middle Eastern leaders wanted to be free to pursue their own goals and objectives, and did not want to be chained to either alliance bloc. De Gaulle hoped to use this common foundation to build strong relations between the nations. He also hoped that good relations would improve France's trade with the region. De Gaulle also imagined that these allies would look up to the more powerful French nation, and would look to it in leadership in matters of foreign policy. The end of the
Algerian conflict in 1962 accomplished much in this regard. France could not portray itself as a leader of the oppressed nations of the world if it still was enforcing its colonial rule upon another nation. The battle against the Muslim separatists that France waged in favour of the minority of French settlers was an extremely unpopular one throughout the Muslim world. With the conflict raging it would have been close to impossible for France to have had positive relations with the nations of the Middle East. The Middle Eastern support for the
FLN guerillas was another strain on relations that the end of the conflict removed. Most of the financial and material support for the FLN had come from the nations of the Middle East and North Africa. This was especially true of Nasser's Egypt, which had long supported the separatists. Egypt is also the most direct example of improved relations after the end of hostilities. The end of the war brought an immediate thaw to Franco-Egyptian relations, Egypt ended the trial of four French officers accused of espionage, and France ended its
trade embargo against Egypt. In 1967 de Gaulle completely overturned France's Israel policy. De Gaulle and his ministers reacted very harshly to Israel's actions in the
Six-Day War. The French government and de Gaulle condemned Israel's treatment of refugees, warned that it was a mistake to occupy the
West Bank and
Gaza Strip, and also refused to recognize the Israeli control of
Jerusalem. The French government continued to criticize Israel after the war and de Gaulle spoke out against other Israeli actions, such as the operations against the
Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon. France began to use its veto power to oppose Israel in the UN, and France sided with the Arab states on almost all issues brought to the international body. Most importantly of all, however, de Gaulle's government imposed an arms embargo on the Israeli state. The embargo was in fact applied to all the combatants, but very soon France began selling weaponry to the Arab states again. As early as 1970 France sold Libya a hundred
Dassault Mirage fighter jets. However, after 1967 France continued to support Israel's
right to exist, as well as Israel's many preferential agreements with France and the
European Economic Community.
Foreign aid In the second half of the 20th century, France increased its expenditures in foreign aid greatly, to become second only to the United States in total aid amongst the Western powers and first on a per capita basis. By 1968 France was paying out $855 million per year in aid far more than either West Germany or the United Kingdom. The vast majority of French aid was directed towards Africa and the Middle East, usually either as a lever to promote French interests or to help with the sale of French products (e.g. arms sales). France also increased its expenditures on other forms of aid sending out skilled individuals to developing countries to provide technical and cultural expertise. The combination of aid money, arms sales, and diplomatic alignments helped to erase the memory of the
Suez Crisis and the Algerian War in the Arab world and France successfully developed amicable relationships with the governments of many of the Middle Eastern states. Nasser and de Gaulle, who shared many similarities, cooperated on limiting American power in the region. Nasser proclaimed France as the only friend of Egypt in the West. France and Iraq also developed a close relationship with business ties, joint military training exercises, and French assistance in Iraq's nuclear program in the 1970s. France improved relations with its former colony Syria, and eroded cultural links were partially restored. In terms of trade France did receive some benefits from the improved relations with the Middle East. French trade with the Middle East increased by over fifty percent after de Gaulle's reforms. The weaponry industries benefited most as France soon had lucrative contracts with many of the regimes in the Middle East and North Africa, though these contracts account for a negligible part of France's economy. De Gaulle had hoped that by taking a moderate path and not strongly supporting either side France could take part in the Middle East peace process between Israel and the Arab nations. Instead it has been excluded from any major role.
Nicolas de Rivière, the
Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, thanked to Mesdames Bahous, Russell and Kanem for their briefings in
Gaza war, and to reiterate France's full support for
UN Women,
UNICEF and
UNFPA in their engagement to help the people of Gaza. Furthermore, France welcomed the agreement, which led to the release of dozens of hostages and a truce.
Modern history The Middle East has been a major factor of France's foreign policy. Over a decade since 2000, France successfully built an influential presence across the MENA region where the major focus had been on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The Middle East policy of France was essential from the strategic, cultural and economic point of view, where the focus remained on proving itself as an international power. The country invested years in maintaining a strong foothold in the region on the lines of trade, security interests, and cultural and social exchanges. Even in 2021, Macron continued taking initiatives towards strengthening relations with the Kingdom and the Emirates. During his visit to the region in November 2021, Macron signed a weapons deal worth 16 billion euros with the UAE. The agreement involved transfer of 80 upgraded Rafale warplanes, along with 12 Airbus-built combat helicopters. While France viewed it as a way to deepen ties with the Emirates, rights organizations criticized and raised concerns around the UAE's involvement in the Yemen and Libyan wars. They objected the deal stating that the Gulf leaders have reflected a constant failure in improving their human rights records. Despite the improving relations between the Emirates and France, the UAE made extensive efforts towards to showcase its image in a positive light. In light of it, a Franco-Tunisian businessman, Elyes Ben Chedly reportedly ran promotion for two of the Emirates' cultural campaigns. Reports revealed that the middleman worked to promote the UAE's "Year of Tolerance" campaign, and was also involved in running the "year Zayed" program in Paris. Reports also revealed that Ben Chedly also used his network of arms contracts to mediate weapons deal between the UAE and other nations. A report in March 2023 by Mediapart revealed that the UAE had been interfering in France by the means of a Switzerland-based intelligence firm Alp Services. A French journalist,
Roland Jacquard connected Alp's head
Mario Brero with the Emirati secret services client, identified as Mohammed. Jacquard maintained a close contact with a network of politicians and diplomats. He was directly in contact with Mohammed, whose emails revealed that Jacquard was supplying the UAE with information from the security services, Emmanuel Macron and the Élysée. France and Qatar have maintained diplomatic relations since Qatar declared independence in 1971. The bilateral partnership began to flourish in the early 1990s, focusing on security and hydrocarbon cooperation. TotalEnergies, present in Qatar since 1936, quickly emerged as a key collaborator with QatarEnergies in the extraction and development of the nation's hydrocarbon reserves. In preparation for the significant security demands of the event, Poland has pledged to contribute troops, including sniffer dog handlers, to support international efforts aimed at ensuring the safety of the
Olympic Games in France. == Diplomatic relations ==