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France's Macron Pivots to Mideast, Triggering Speculation

Lisa Bryant

   PARIS - After spending months fighting coronavirus fires at home,
   French President Emmanuel Macron has switched his sights to the Middle
   East, flying last week to two key regional hot spots, Lebanon and Iraq,
   and hosting a summit Thursday in Corsica partly dominated by southern
   Europe's growing friction with Turkey.

   Macron's penchant for bold gestures, from dramatic announcements on
   climate change to hosting major meetings on global crises and prodding
   Europe on greater fiscal and military integration, have inevitably
   snagged international headlines. His latest Middle East foray is no
   different.

   But opinions swing wildly about the president's motives and tactics,
   with some suggesting he aims to reboot France's Arab strategy, fill a
   void left by Washington, or simply keep a sharp eye out for French
   strategic and commercial interests. Still other observers warn against
   French neocolonialism or of Paris insufficiently engaging its European
   allies.

   "What is Macron up to in the Middle East?" Egypt's English-language Al
   Ahram weekly wrote on Tuesday, summing up a broader question raised by
   commentators.

   Analyst Philippe Moreau Defarges, a former French diplomat, offers
   another take.

   "He wants to forget what is happening in France," where coronavirus
   cases are again soaring, Moreau Defarges said of Macron's Lebanese
   efforts, in particular. "He wants to mobilize French public opinion
   around a great cause."

   Issues with Ankara

   At Thursday's summit outside the Corsican capital of Ajaccio, leaders
   from France and several other European Mediterranean states were to
   find a common European Union position on Turkey, Macron said, with
   differences sharp over a range of issues, including Turkey's
   hydrocarbon exploration in waters claimed by Greece.

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