WarSclerotic

Israel Hayom | The Hollande Line.

Eli Hazan

Last August, French aircraft set off toward Syria to bomb the central missile batteries manned by the Syrian unit that oversaw chemical weapons. But U.S. President Barack Obama vetoed the attack, and today, Syrian President Bashar Assad continues to slaughter his countrymen.

It’s true, during the current nuclear talks the U.S. has demonstrated a willingness to accept far-reaching concessions that could jeopardize global security, but France is not standing idly by. Paris has boldly tried to prevent a situation where the Iranians seize Western opinion while pressing on unencumbered toward a nuclear bomb. Next week, French President Francois Hollande will visit Israel and deliver a speech at the Knesset, something Obama refused to do.

The French shift in foreign policy started during former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s time in office, but the trend accelerated when Hollande came to power in the May 2013 elections. The current reality recalls previous times: France is re-emerging as a dominant global player in international relations. The French government is invoking the spirit of Charles de Gaulle, but only to stand boldly and shrewdly against dictatorial regimes impinging on basic human rights and imperiling global peace.

During the Iron Curtain era, de Gaulle positioned France at the center, shuttling independent policy between the United States and the Soviet Union. But the world has changed since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia supports rogue states while the U.S. demonstrates incompetence against them. France has come to fill the moral vacuum.

The Iranians have made complaints and aired grievances about the French position. Iranian officials have spouted accusations as if France is being “hostile and irresponsible,” as if it is France that is absolutely ludicrous, as if France is rising against a champion of human rights. Actually, it’s standing against a government that not only called for the destruction of Israel, but also one that encourages “Death to America,” with the ultimate goal of plundering liberty, equality and brotherhood.

France was once our closest ally; it holds many shares in the establishment of the young State of Israel. But that same Charles de Gaulle changed his Middle East policy. He was ready to sacrifice the Jewish state on the altar of oil from the perspective of realpolitik, which historically exemplifies the gravity of the current situation with Iran.

Also, those critics who claim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed amid Iranian diplomatic efforts are mistaken, again. The whole world is not united with Israel. Even the U.S. adopted conciliatory policies. But when a nation such as France understands, as we do, the severity of the issue and takes active steps, we can feel that we’re in good company. Now that’s what I call French wisdom.

Eli Hazan is a lecturer at the Israeli Center for Political Training.

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