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French President Emmanuel Macron’s testing positive for Covid-19 came as a sad but helpful opportunity for the Lebanese establishment to save face. It was a perfect opportunity to prove the futility of all superficial deals attempted to solve an existential problem. The fact is that the problem lies deep in the conflicting sectarian interests connected to Lebanon’s identity and fate, as well as the future of the Middle East as a whole.
Some European approaches in the Middle East have failed because certain influential European powers misread the realities of regional politics; while others have failed due to specific, or conflicting interests with, or towards active regional players, led by Israel, Iran and Turkey. France, however, has no excuse when it misreads the situation, as it has had ancient and long associations there. These include being a main actor in: