When Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived at the Élysée Palace last week for his first official visit to Europe, the red carpet wasn’t just a diplomatic formality; it was a symbol of France’s reawakening ambitions in the Middle East and a signal that history may be repeating itself in dangerous and deeply cynical ways.
Emmanuel Macron, who has spent the past year watching French influence in Africa unravel, appears to be redirecting his foreign policy eastward, reviving the ghosts of empire in the very region France once ruled under colonial mandate.
Sharaa, a former commander of the jihadist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which has deep historical links to al-Qaeda, now finds himself at the center of European diplomacy. France – once loudly condemning Assad-era atrocities – has made a bold pivot by not only engaging with Sharaa but actively inviting him to Paris and treating him like a legitimate statesman despite credible reports of ongoing violence under his new government.
Macron publicly urged him to protect “all Syrians without exception,” following mass killings that have disproportionately affected minority communities like the Alawites and Druze. Yet behind closed doors, France appears more interested in securing business deals and geostrategic footholds than holding anyone accountable.
This meeting cannot be seen in isolation. France’s influence in Africa has been battered by a wave of anti-French sentiment, military coups, and rising competition from Russia and China. In recent years, French troops have been expelled from several African countries, and Paris has watched the collapse of its neocolonial networks of influence, built on military bases, extractive industries, and political manipulation.
The loss of Africa as a neocolonial playground has forced Macron to look elsewhere, and Syria, with its shattered infrastructure and desperate need for reconstruction, presents a ripe opportunity.
The signs of this shift are already visible. Just days before Sharaa’s visit, French shipping and logistics giant CMA CGM signed a 30-year contract to operate the strategic port of Latakia. This move gives France a powerful economic lever in post-Assad Syria and a physical footprint on the Mediterranean coast.
Economic expansion under guise of diplomacy
This is not humanitarian outreach; it is economic expansion under the guise of diplomacy. Paris isn’t just helping Syria rebuild; it’s setting the terms of that rebuilding to favor French interests.
At the same time, Macron’s rhetoric on human rights rings hollow. He welcomed a man still subject to a United Nations travel ban, whose leadership emerged from Islamist insurgency and who is accused by NGOs of failing to rein in extremist elements in his own ranks.
Macron made vague calls for justice and inclusion, but those were quickly followed by statements supporting a “gradual lifting” of sanctions, signaling that France is willing to overlook bloodshed if it means winning contracts and influence. The same Macron who denied asylum to thousands of Syrian refugees, who supported hardline border policies across Europe, now embraces a Syrian leader with a violent past.
This duplicity is not new. France’s colonial legacy in Syria, dating back to the 1920s, was defined by brutal repression of uprisings, division of communities, and the imposition of European political systems on Arab societies. The French created sectarian enclaves, bombed Damascus in 1925, and left behind a fractured political order that continues to haunt the region today.
Macron’s latest actions suggest that the colonial mindset never truly disappeared; it simply evolved. Where once the tools were military garrisons and puppet rulers, today they are logistics contracts, diplomatic recognition, and conditional economic aid.
Critics within France have not remained silent. From the far right to mainstream conservatives, many have condemned the invitation to Sharaa as reckless, calling it a betrayal of France’s supposed values. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen described the meeting as “provocative and irresponsible,” while others pointed out the absurdity of hosting a figure with known terrorist affiliations.
In a world increasingly skeptical of Western double standards, France’s overtures to Syria’s new regime risk reigniting anti-colonial resistance – not just in Syria, but across the Arab world. Macron’s bet may buy short-term contracts and headlines, but it threatens to poison long-term relations and ignite the same resentment that drove France out of Africa.
Sharaa, who has not proven his commitment to pluralism or justice, is not a reliable partner. He is a tool, one France hopes to shape and control. But in doing so, Paris is once again aligning itself with the forces of authoritarianism and repression it once claimed to oppose.
The writer, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco. Follow him on X: @amineayoubx.