The time when Nicolas Sarkozy boasted of his good economic or diplomatic deals in Libya is long gone. The former French president, whose trial opened Monday January 6 in Paris, is suspected of having “knotted” with dictator Muammar Gaddafi “a pact of corruption” to finance its victorious campaign of 2007. And since the military intervention of 2011 which precipitated the fall of the dictator, and for which Paris presented itself as a key player, France’s decline in Libya has been measured by years in year.
“France, we think about it when we have time in Libya”
“For the vast majority of French people, including some experts, time stopped in 2011 in Libya, but the clock is ticking and history continues, with a predominance of non-Western nations”considers Jalel Harchaoui, political scientist associated with the Royal United Services Institute For Defense and Security Studies.
Fourteen years ago, before Libya was torn between rival factions, France was the second largest importer of hydrocarbons behind Italy. In 2022, France was demoted to 8th place, representing only 3% of Libyan trade. “France, we think about it when we have time in Libya. If we take away a contract from France to give it to China or Turkey, we will do it without hesitation, because the authorities know well that there will be no consequences if France, ejected in the Sahel and Chad , is disappointed,” continues the expert.
After the election of François Hollande, Paris officially lined up behind the UN line, notably supporting the emergence of the Government of National Unity (GUN) in Tripoli (West). But behind the scenes, France also lends a hand to the enemy authority of Marshal Haftar, based in Benghazi (East), through the Minister of Defense at the time, Jean-Yves Le Drian. “At the start of his mandate, Emmanuel Macron continued this policy by making it official”summarizes Jalel Harchaoui. In July 2017, the French head of state organized a meeting in La Celle-Saint-Cloud (Yvelines) between General Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan Prime Minister Fisent Al Sarraj. Without tangible results.
“Debt” to Libya
It was only after the failure, in August 2019, of the offensive by Haftar’s troops on Tripoli that Paris re-examined its position. In March 2021, ten years after the military intervention, while receiving the new Libyan president, Mohammed Al Menfi, Emmanuel Macron admitted France’s particular responsibility: «We owe a very clear debt to Libya: a decade of disorder.» A late attempt to regain a foothold in a country well occupied by other powers.
But it is not too late to do well, believes Jalel Harchaoui. “France, which holds a seat on the UN Security Council, could play an important role, provided it defines a guideline with the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the United States, why not in reaction to three dangers: rampant corruption, the Russian presence and the risk of a return to war. »
