Those who have followed the ties between France and Syria since the era of President Francois Mitterand are seeing the same fluctuation in the quality of this relationship. France has constantly tried to improve its relationship with the Syrian regime because Syria is important in the Middle East, and because it plays an important role in Lebanon and in the peace process. Thus, in 1984 Mitterand's decision to visit Damascus generated considerable criticism in France, because it came two years after the assassination of the French ambassador to Lebanon, Louis Delamare. French circles, along with Delamare's family, blamed Mitterand for the visit after French accusations over the murder had pointed in the direction of the Syrian regime. Mitterand undertook this famous visit, which ended in huge failure because the Syrians made every effort to sabotage it. This was particularly the case when Mitterand and his Syrian counterpart Hafez Assad tackled the topic of Lebanon. If one goes back to the joint news conference that ended the visit, there was the hard-line stance of the Syrian regime and the failure to benefit from the opportunity to respond to the "open hand" France had extended to Damascus. After Mitterand, the same thing happened with President Jacques Chirac, during the Hafez Assad and Bashar Assad presidencies. Chirac began with a policy of openness to President Hafez Assad, with the encouragement of the late Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri. Chirac made an effort to cancel Syria's debt to France without going through the Paris Club for rescheduling it. Chirac did so in a decision that stirred criticisms in French financial circles. He also invited Hafez Assad to make a state visit to France, despite the cautions and criticisms voiced by his Socialist Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, who in the end agreed to the visit. This was because the president in France has the final say on foreign policy matters. When Hafez Assad died, Chirac was the only Western president who traveled to attend the funeral, despite the criticisms that were directed at him. Chirac believed that a good relationship with Syria would help convince Damascus that a secure Lebanon was in its interest. Chirac was also the first one to receive Assad's son Bashar, who inherited the presidency, even before he became president, hosting him at the Elysee Palace. After that, he rolled out the red carpet for President Bashar Assad during a state visit that was preceded by a visit from Assad's ally, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud. After this, the relationship deteriorated, when Bashar Assad did not heed the advice of the entire world, led by President Chirac, to not extend Lahoud's mandate. This was despite the fact that Assad could have chosen another president from among his friends in Lebanon. However, he insisted on Lahoud, despite the advice of his Iranian ally at the time, President Mohammad Khatami. After this, Rafiq Hariri and his comrades were assassinated and a string of killings followed in Lebanon. There was a complete rupture in ties between Syria and France until President Nicolas Sarkozy came to office, trying once again in July 2008 to open a new page with the Syrian regime. This honeymoon lasted until a few months ago, and French Foreign Minister Claude Gueant, who was previously the secretary general of the Presidential Palace, was the motivator of this policy, along with a number of France's friends, among them the prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani, and the Aga Khan, while Israeli President Shimon Peres also encouraged Sarkozy to open up to Syria. Sarkozy believed that he could succeed where Chirac failed. However, the Syrian regime did not take advantage of the hand that was extended to it. Sarkozy should not be blamed for this, especially since this initiative was supported by many in his party, and even by rivals such as the former prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, and the current foreign minister, Alain Juppe. But after less than three years of this honeymoon, Sarkozy began to notice that the Syrian regime was not responding to him. He tried to put together a contact group on Lebanon in Paris, grouping Turkey and Qatar, after the March 8 camp's ministers resigned from the government of Saad Hariri. Syria did not agree, and it, through its allies in Lebanon, brought down the government of Saad Hariri, removing him from the prime minister's office; Sarkozy expressed his irritation in a telephone call with Assad. When popular protests began recently in Syria, Paris advised Damascus to engage in dialogue and undertake reforms. But the Syrian regime did not listen. Today, the rupture in ties has returned, after France sought to impose sanctions on the Syrian president himself. The Syrian regime continues to fail to take advantage of opportunities presented to let it exit its isolation, and it does not respond to its friends in France, Turkey and Qatar, or respond to the demands of its people. But it should read the regional changes, and the change in the peoples of the region. The regime cannot remain in the stone age, because the vigilance and bravery of the Syrian people cannot be defeated!
