Macron Seeks to Strengthen France’s 'Strategic' Role in The Middle East

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Defense Council at Fort de Brégançon with Health Minister Olivier Veran, Admiral Jean-Philippe Rolland, and French Minister Delegate in charge of Small and Medium-Sized Entreprises Alain Griset, in Bormes-les-Mimosas, France August 11, 2021. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/Pool
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Defense Council at Fort de Brégançon with Health Minister Olivier Veran, Admiral Jean-Philippe Rolland, and French Minister Delegate in charge of Small and Medium-Sized Entreprises Alain Griset, in Bormes-les-Mimosas, France August 11, 2021. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/Pool
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Macron Seeks to Strengthen France’s 'Strategic' Role in The Middle East

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Defense Council at Fort de Brégançon with Health Minister Olivier Veran, Admiral Jean-Philippe Rolland, and French Minister Delegate in charge of Small and Medium-Sized Entreprises Alain Griset, in Bormes-les-Mimosas, France August 11, 2021. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/Pool
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Defense Council at Fort de Brégançon with Health Minister Olivier Veran, Admiral Jean-Philippe Rolland, and French Minister Delegate in charge of Small and Medium-Sized Entreprises Alain Griset, in Bormes-les-Mimosas, France August 11, 2021. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/Pool

When French President Emmanuel Macron moved early to the Fort de Brégançon - the summer residence of French presidents overlooking the Mediterranean - the Elysée circles described his break as “hardworking”, also at the international level.

The Aug. 4 conference, which Macron organized and sponsored in partnership with the United Nations to provide humanitarian aid to Lebanon, demonstrated his continued efforts to extend a helping hand to the crisis-hit country and his insistence on proving the presence of Paris in the Mediterranean land.

It is true that the French president has affirmed, since the Beirut port explosion, his special interest in Lebanon, which he visited twice, and would have visited a third time had it not been for his infection with the Covid-19 at the end of 2020. But Macron has other interests in the region, most notably his participation in the Iraqi Neighborhood Conference in Baghdad, which is expected to be held on Aug. 28. He is also seeking to revive his country’s role in the Iranian nuclear issue.

It should be noted that Macron visited Baghdad in September and received at the Elysée Palace Iraqi President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.

Paris maintains good old relations with the Kurdistan region. Hence, Macron’s participation in a conference, albeit under a regional name (the Iraq Neighborhood Conference), seems normal to a large extent.

The statement issued by the Elysée Palace after the phone call that took place between Macron and Al-Kadhimi was remarkable, where the latter pointed to the preparations for the conference, which is “organized by Iraq in cooperation and coordination with France.” This means that Macron will not be a “normal” participant, but will assume a greater role.

A group of Iraqi ministers had toured many capitals to send the invitations for the conference, including Riyadh, Ankara, Tehran, Cairo and Amman. While Syria’s presence is excluded and the European and American participations are still unknown, Macron’s attendance would push towards two main outcomes: The first is to motivate some capitals to raise their level of representation, and the second is to make Macron “the mediator”, considering that Western officials such as US President Joe Biden or British Prime Minister Boris Johnson would refuse to participate in a conference that might be attended by the new Iranian president, Ibrahim Raisi.

The French president was the first Western chief to communicate directly with Raisi. This means that Paris is willing to revitalize its position over Iran's nuclear activity, seeking once again to play the role of mediator between Tehran and Washington in an attempt to revive the stagnant Vienna negotiations.

Through his strong and active participation in the conference, Macron will demonstrate his country’s presence and strategic role in this region. To this day, the French military presence in Iraq continues in two areas: training on the one hand, and chasing ISIS remnants on the other.

Paris has always emphasized its adherence to the security and stability of the Gulf region. Macron and his Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, have repeatedly denounced Iran’s “destabilizing” regional policy, but Paris wants to maintain dialogue with Tehran, as well as reviving the nuclear agreement, which it sees as the most effective way to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.



Iran-Israel War: A Lifeline for Netanyahu?

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
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Iran-Israel War: A Lifeline for Netanyahu?

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)

The Iran-Israel war has helped strengthen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu domestically and overseas, just as his grip on power looked vulnerable.

On the eve of launching strikes on Iran, his government looked to be on the verge of collapse, with a drive to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews threatening to scupper his fragile coalition.

Nearly two years on from Hamas's unprecedented attack in 2023, Netanyahu was under growing domestic criticism for his handling of the war in Gaza, where dozens of hostages remain unaccounted for, said AFP.

Internationally too, he was coming under pressure including from longstanding allies, who since the war with Iran began have gone back to expressing support.

Just days ago, polls were predicting Netanyahu would lose his majority if new elections were held, but now, his fortunes appear to have reversed, and Israelis are seeing in "Bibi" the man of the moment.

– 'Reshape the Middle East' –

For decades, Netanyahu has warned of the risk of a nuclear attack on Israel by Iran -- a fear shared by most Israelis.

Yonatan Freeman, a geopolitics expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Netanyahu's argument that the pre-emptive strike on Iran was necessary draws "a lot of public support" and that the prime minister has been "greatly strengthened".

Even the opposition has rallied behind him.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is my political rival, but his decision to strike Iran at this moment in time is the right one," opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote in a Jerusalem Post op-ed.

A poll published Saturday by a conservative Israeli channel showed that 54 percent of respondents expressed confidence in the prime minister.

The public had had time to prepare for the possibility of an offensive against Iran, with Netanyahu repeatedly warning that Israel was fighting for its survival and had an opportunity to "reshape the Middle East."

During tit-for-tat military exchanges last year, Israel launched air raids on targets in Iran in October that are thought to have severely damaged Iranian air defenses.

Israel's then-defense minister Yoav Gallant said the strikes had shifted "the balance of power" and had "weakened" Iran.

"In fact, for the past 20 months, Israelis have been thinking about this (a war with Iran)," said Denis Charbit, a political scientist at Israel's Open University.

Since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Netanyahu has ordered military action in Gaza, against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as targets in Syria where long-time leader Bashar al-Assad fell in December last year.

"Netanyahu always wants to dominate the agenda, to be the one who reshuffles the deck himself -- not the one who reacts -- and here he is clearly asserting his Churchillian side, which is, incidentally, his model," Charbit said.

"But depending on the outcome and the duration (of the war), everything could change, and Israelis might turn against Bibi and demand answers."

– Silencing critics –

For now, however, people in Israel see the conflict with Iran as a "necessary war," according to Nitzan Perelman, a researcher specialized in Israel at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France.

"Public opinion supports this war, just as it has supported previous ones," she added.

"It's very useful for Netanyahu because it silences criticism, both inside the country and abroad."

In the weeks ahead of the Iran strikes, international criticism of Netanyahu and Israel's military had reached unprecedented levels.

After more than 55,000 deaths in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, and a blockade that has produced famine-like conditions there, Israel has faced growing isolation and the risk of sanctions, while Netanyahu himself is the subject of an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.

But on Sunday, two days into the war with Iran, the Israeli leader received a phone call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has held talks with numerous counterparts.

"There's more consensus in Europe in how they see Iran, which is more equal to how Israel sees Iran," explained Freeman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that Israel was doing "the dirty work... for all of us."

The idea that a weakened Iran could lead to regional peace and the emergence of a new Middle East is appealing to the United States and some European countries, according to Freeman.

But for Perelman, "Netanyahu is exploiting the Iranian threat, as he always has."