A Bold Chirac Gambles On French Rebirth In Mideast

Risking the ire of friends, President Jacques Chirac has boldly gambled on resurrecting France as a force in the Middle East, hoping for a payoff in power, prestige and, eventually, lucrative contracts.

The man who dubbed himself a “soldier for peace” had the bearing of a storm trooper on the weeklong tour that ended Friday, ostensibly intended as a European bid to jump-start the stalled peace process.

But as the trip unfolded, it became clear Chirac was donning the mantle of Charles de Gaulle, his political mentor, in his quest to restore France’s former status in the region.

“Our friendship with the Arab world, our friendship with Israel and our conception of our own responsibilities in this part of the world require France to have a strong presence,” Chirac said in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

The specter of French meddling in the delicate peace talks discomfited European Union partners such as Britain, as well as the United States, currently the sole mediator in the negotiations. Israel issued a flat “no” to Chirac’s push for greater involvement.

But many Arabs, foremost the Palestinians, welcomed Chirac as an opportunity to undermine what some see as America’s pro-Israeli stance.

Defying Western wisdom, Chirac lauded Syrian President Hafez Assad, called Iraq a “great country” and snubbed Israel with his failure to address the Knesset. The address would have balanced his speech before the Palestinian Legislative Council - the first by a Western leader.

He also called for a Palestinian state and the return of the Golan Heights to Syria, demands anathema to the position of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The result was Arab acclamation.

Gaza inaugurated a street as “Charles de Gaulle” during the visit, and a Palestinian mother named her newborn “Jacques Chirac.”

“We need you,” said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, referring warmly to “Dr. Chirac,” the healer.

Chirac became the ultimate Palestinian crowd pleaser when he faced off with overzealous Israeli security forces during a visit to Jerusalem’s Old Town.

“Chirac Fights His Intefadeh,” the leftist newspaper Liberation summed up in a banner headline.

Was this mere street savvy meant to seduce the Arab world or an authentic outburst by a man long ago nicknamed in France “Le Bulldozer?”

“It’s both,” said Antoine Sfeir, publisher of Les Cahiers de l’Orient (Notebooks of the Orient) and an expert on the region. In the Middle East, “he knows that symbolism is as important as the message itself.”

“It was the only way to go. Otherwise,” said Sfeir, “it would have been a visit like any other.”

Chirac knew in advance he was likely to irk the Israelis and curry favor among the Arabs, but that just may be his tact. Chirac, the 1970s architect of France’s once-lucrative friendship with Iraq, has been planting the seeds for a French rebirth in the region since taking office in mid-1995.

Boosting France’s political influence and prestige in the region, reduced in the ‘90s after the U.S.dominated Gulf War effort and Washington-led peace talks, also could help France’s beleaguered defense industry with new contracts.

But Chirac was playing loose with the rules.

He has no mandate to speak for the EU, which on Monday will discuss appointing a Mideast envoy but lacks cohesion on the topic as it does on many other foreign policy issues. And Israel dislikes what it perceives as France’s pro-Arab stance.

The United States has urged European nations to stay out of the talks, saying a multiplicity of voices could derail the peace process.

“No one wants a mini-United Nations in those negotiations,” State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said Friday.

Still, France could conceivably help carve a place for Europe in the final stage of peace talks, for which a mediator has not yet been chosen.

“Why remain a spectator,” commented Liberation, “when, becoming the advocate of one of the parties, one can hope to garner political and economic dividends tomorrow in the Arab world, and score points against American pretensions?”

As he concluded his visit, Chirac said Friday he hoped for “positive and concrete results … Inshallah” - Arabic for “God willing.”

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