Macron to host Syria’s new leader in 1st trip to Europe

The whitewashing by the West of Syria’s controversial new president shifted gear recently, assisted by the French.

The French presidency has announced it will host President Ahmed al-Sharaa in his first visit to Europe as Syria’s interim leader, in a move which has sparked controversy among France’s far-right. 

As reported in the New Arab plus agencies on May 6th, the presidency has declared the visit an opportunity to “reiterate France’s support for the construction of a new Syria, a free, stable, sovereign Syria that respects all components of Syrian society”. 

On the agenda for the meeting between Macron and al-Sharaa will also be discussions on Syria’s role in stabilising the wider region particularly in the fight against terrorism. 

Macron’s initial invitation to the interim leader was extended back in February and again in March, but this time made conditional on Syria establishing an inclusive government representing “all components of civil society”. 

Syria’s interim leadership have repeatedly reiterated a commitment to including all religious groups in Syria’s transition. 

However, the months since the fall of Assad in December last year have not been completely smooth sailing and many countries have held back on lifting sanctions, awaiting signs of progress by the new government in protecting Syria’s numerous minority groups.

A recent setback in March attracted widespread condemnation as a wave of sectarian violence caused over 1,700 deaths, predominantly among the minority Alawite community. 

Meanwhile Israel has exerted significant pressure on the new government through repeated airstrikes, partly in the name of protecting the Druze minority who have also been involved in recent clashes. 

France’s far right have strongly condemned the upcoming meeting.

In a post on X, far right leader Marine Le Pen called the Syrian leader a “jihadist” and described the decision to host talks as “provocative and irresponsible”, and a discredit to France’s commitment to fighting Islamic terrorism. 

French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot has defended the decision however, reiterating the importance of engaging with countries like Syria in order to tackle issues including terrorism and migration. 

He argued that a refusal to engage with them would amount to “rolling out the red carpet for Daesh”. 

New Arab/agencies/Maghrebi