As wars intensify in Europe, the Near and Middle East, President Emmanuel Macron spoke to ambassadors this Monday, January 6, about his roadmap for the coming year. The objective is to maintain France on the international scene, despite the internal political crisis which divides it.
President Emmanuel Macron presents his foreign policy priorities in 2025 to French ambassadors in Paris on Monday, against a backdrop of multiple crises in the world, from Ukraine to the Middle East via Taiwan.
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Aid for kyiv, the Middle and Near East at the heart of European concerns
“The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East concern us directly and threaten our security, our unity, our economy,” the president said during his New Year’s greetings to the French.
“Europe can no longer delegate its security and defense to other powers,” he added, insisting on the importance for France to “continue to invest in its military rearmament, to guarantee our sovereignty , the protection of our interests and the security of our compatriots.
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While the Ukrainian forces have been in great difficulty for months facing the Russian army, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski is the guest of honor at this 30th edition of the ambassadors' conference, which is being held Monday and Tuesday .
Poland, which has staunchly supported neighboring Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022 and serves as a logistical axis for Western military aid, took over the rotating presidency of the European Union on January 1.
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Before the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States on January 20, Europeans are pleading for continued aid to kyiv, fearing that the American's return to power will call into question the contribution of the main supporter to Ukraine. In his speech to diplomats at the Elysée, the French president should also return to the situation in the Near and Middle East.
Since the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, Israel has continued its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, ravaged by a very serious humanitarian crisis and the death of tens of thousands of civilians. The conflict has spread to Lebanon against Hamas ally Hezbollah, although a fragile ceasefire agreement was reached at the end of November.
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For a “peaceful and inclusive” transition in Syria
Finally, the Head of State will discuss Syria, where the head of French diplomacy Jean-Noël Barrot went on January 3 to meet Ahmad al-Chareh, who took the reins of the country on December 8 after the flight of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Jean-Noël Barrot and his German counterpart pleaded for a “peaceful” and “inclusive” transition, and offered the expertise of their countries and the EU to help the Syrians draft a new constitution.
Paris has also proposed the organization of an international conference at the end of January, “involving Syria and its partners” to support the political transition “in the right direction”, according to Jean-Noël Barrot. The Minister of Foreign Affairs will for his part hold a press conference on Monday with his Polish counterpart, who will present the priorities of the EU presidency for the next six months.
Jean-Noël Barrot will then address the diplomatic corps on Tuesday to present “his roadmap” for 2025, according to his ministry. This essential meeting of French diplomacy, which is held each year at the end of August-beginning of September, could not be held in 2024 due to the Olympic Games in France, raising questions and adding to the unease affecting the ministry.
In 2022, a reform providing for the abolition of the two historic bodies of French diplomacy and the creation of a new body of State – senior civil servants will no longer be attached to a specific administration and will be able to change during their career – had caused an internal outcry.
An extremely rare strike even shook the Quai d'Orsay, with diplomats fearing a loss of skills and prestige of the third largest network in the world, behind those of the United States and China.
Despite Emmanuel Macron's promises to “rearmament” diplomacy by increasing resources and staff in return for this reform, the 2025 draft budget, which has still not been adopted due to the political crisis in France, provides for a reduction by 4.3% for the State's external action, to reach 3.3 billion euros. The share of development aid, also managed by the Quai d'Orsay, fell by 23%, to 2.4 billion.
