Sep 12, 2013

The latest developments in the diplomatic crisis over the use of chemical weapons on Aug. 21 in the Syrian conflict put France, arguably the most hawkish of the Western countries, in an embarrassing situation. Since the beginning of this new chapter in the Syrian crisis, French officials expressed by far the strongest resolve to retaliate against the [Bashar al-]Assad regime.

While US President Barack Obama carefully weighed his options for several days and British Prime Minister David Cameron consulted the House of Commons, French President Francois Hollande and his Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius had already pledged to “punish” the regime. The rhetoric used by the French mixed principles of “responsibility to protect” with the necessity to restore the “taboo” on the use of chemical weapons. Fabius even went as far as to suggest that the UN Security Council could be bypassed because of probable vetoes by Russia and China.

But as soon as Obama showed signs that he may not be so forthcoming on the launching of punitive military strikes, French assertiveness turned out to be mere razzmatazz. Obama's decision to seek congressional authorization for military intervention in Syria put Hollande in a very delicate situation. For the Elysee Palace — Hollande's official residence and meeting place of his ministers — the days of waiting were excruciating. Jean-Francois Cope, leader of the right-wing opposition in Paris, mocked Hollande as the “US president’s trailer,” while French think tankers noticed “for the first time in history a French military intervention depends on a vote in US Congress."

The second embarrassment for France came with the Russian proposal to push Assad to give up his chemical weapons. Consultations between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sidelined their French counterpart and put Paris’ tough position against the tide of the diplomatic game. As a response, the French then tried — less than 24 hours after the Russian proposal — to regain the lead by presenting a resolution to the UN Security Council. The French draft was immediately dismissed by Moscow, as it appeared that the document suggested the authorization of the use of force — under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter — if Assad failed to comply with the chemical weapons transfer. Lavrov called that condition "unacceptable." Now, as Kerry and a team of US experts meet their Russian counterparts in Geneva to reach an agreement, it seems likely that the conundrum over the dismantlement of Syria’s chemical arsenal will be solved through US-Russian talks.

This diplomatic episode reveals the evolving power plays in the shadow of the Syrian crisis. The French assertiveness on the issue of chemical weapons was a logical continuation of French attempts to raise the international pressure on Assad. Over the last year, France grew as the fiercest Western opponent to the Syrian ruler. Hollande was the first Western head of state to recognize the Syrian National Coalition in November 2012 as “the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people."