France’s Stance in the Syrian Civil War
The state is more heavily involved than you may know.
France is heavily involved in Syria’s civil war. It will stand with any resolution in the United Nations that prioritizes humanitarian response and aid in helping end the civil war in Syria. If appropriate, France will strongly advocate for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, just as it has proposed in the United Nations before (Ramani). France will support any action that does not cause an escalation in Syria, as shown in France’s advocation to the United Nations Security Council in 2020 not to take escalation lightly to protect Syrians in Idlib (“Syria: the risk of…”). If any state argues for intense intervention, like the complete removal of Assad, France will be in support. Still, if a state is arguing for no intervention in Syria, France will not be in support. France needs to establish control over what areas can be aided in Syria, help on a humanitarian scale, and work to overthrow Assad and replace his regime. France will work with the United Nation’s efforts to put the Syrian civil war to rest as it believes it is the only solution that will put an end to the war (“War in Syria”).
On a Domestic level, France’s involvement in the war is due to many reasons, but primarily to help establish itself as a great power today. France wants to be perceived as a humanitarian leader, as demonstrated by France’s intense humanitarian response and launching of airstrikes in Syria in 2015 (Ramani). In tangent, France also wants to be seen as a foreign policy alternative to the United States, as France is typically resistant to the United States foreign policy decision-making. France has taken on the identity of willingness to work outside of United States leadership and increase military escalation
compared to the United States' “incremental approach.” This has become the “distinct identity underlying its [France's] great power status” (Ramani). Therefore, the war in Syria allowed France to push back against the United States and help it grasp the title of “great power.” Besides trying to establish itself as a great power and presenting an alternative foreign policy to the United States, France sees involvement in Syria as an opportunity to enhance security cooperation with anti-Assad Sunni countries in the Middle East (Ramani). France is looking to create cooperation with countries that deeply distrust Iran, similar to France’s view. France's domestic interests are why the state is so heavily involved in the Syrian civil war and would lead France to be a strong advocate for the peace process.
Regarding France's compromising on the issues within Syria, it is unlikely that France would make many compromises. In 2015, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said, “We will do nothing to strengthen the [Assad’s] regime” (“French PM Valls”). France has also released an airstrike in Syria, proving itself to be a strong advocate for the protection of Syrian citizens and the removal of Assad. With both of these taken into account, it does not seem likely that France would take any compromise that is not putting the end of the war in Syria as the first initiative. Similarly, France also knows that because it has been one of the main advocates for the complete removal of Assad and the replacement of his regime, France would likely be considered a great power if the war in Syria were to come to an end. As mentioned, this is one of France’s main motives for its involvement in Syria. A compromise with another state that does not put the interest of ending the Syrian civil war first would hurt France’s chances of fully reaching that great power status. Although, a compromise could eventually be possible if France sees an ideal they have not supported in the past — putting men on the ground in Syria — be proposed, and it is believed that this could help end the war. France will likely support the proposition (“French PM Valls”). Once again, France will likely not compromise on any past or current beliefs unless the state believes the action is likely to end the war in Syria. Likewise, France could try and persuade Russia not to veto a proposition that supports tearing down Assad’s regime by voting in support of an issue that Russia also supports, but this is most unlikely.
France’s involvement in the war is to help France play a role in the Middle East, which is where France could link the Syrian civil war to relations with Iran and other Middle Eastern countries. In 2019, France became increasingly distrustful of Iran when it was believed that Iran would leave the Vienna accord before Iran did (Irish). Iran not cooperating with France and the European Union has created a stressor for France and is why France aims to create solid partners with various states in the Middle East. Theoretically, France could compromise with those in a chair in the United Nations Security Council that have similar ideals to Iran and agree to readdress the Vienna accord on Iran’s terms for their support of France’s ideals with Syria. While this is possible, France would have to see the equal benefits for this trade-off, and there would also need to be another member that is in strong enough support of Iran for France to have even leverage on this trade-off. It is likely that France’s biggest stressor is Russia and figuring out a way to stop Russia from shielding Assad’s regime any longer. As Russia has stood strong in its current position, France and Russia will likely not be able to reach an agreement, especially because both states have veto power.
France has proven itself to be a headstrong state in clear support of ending the civil war in Syria. The state will do what it can in its involvement with Syria to prove itself as a great power and work to influence the complete removal of Assad and the replacement of his regime.
Works Cited
“French PM Valls Says No Compromise with Syria’s Assad Possible.” Reuters, Thomson
Reuters, 15 Sept. 2015, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria- france/french-pm-valls-says-no-compromise-with-syrias-assad-possible- idUSKCN0RF1UK20150915.
Irish, John. “France Says Iran Will Gain Nothing by Breaking with Nuclear Deal.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 3 July 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-iran- france/france-says-iran-will-gain-nothing-by-breaking-with-nuclear-deal- idUKKCN1TY1LF.
Ramani, Samuel. “Why France Is so Deeply Entangled in Syria.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 7 Dec. 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey- cage/wp/2015/11/19/why-france-is-so-deeply-entangled-in-syria/.
“Syria: The Risk of a Generalized Escalation Should Not Be Taken Lightly.” France ONU, https://onu.delegfrance.org/Syria-the-risk-of-a-generalized-escalation-should-not-be- taken-lightly.
War in Syria: Understanding France’s Position — Diplomatie. https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/syria/war-in-syria-understanding-france- s-position/.
