Is there a French ‘betrayal’ of the Christians of Lebanon?

Dr. George Sadaka Christian voices rose against France because of its support for the candidacy of Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency of the Republic, considering that it “betrays” its historical care for the Christians of Lebanon, as many of them still consider France “the eldest daughter of the Church,” and that it has a historical role in caring for the Christian presence in Lebanon since King Louis in the thirteenth century leading up to the proclamation of the Greater Lebanon State. Bkerki still holds an annual festive mass on the intention of France on the first day after Easter. But in fact, and through the French move towards Lebanon during the era of President Emmanuel Macron, it seems clear that France’s first goal is not to help Lebanon out of its presidential crisis, but rather that it is using Lebanon to build its network of economic and political relations in the region. This is the case with politics in general: the search for interests. France abandoned its Christian heritage a long time ago, and the Christians of Lebanon no longer hold weight in the calculations of countries. What France is doing, through its presidential initiative towards Lebanon, is taking care of its local and regional interests. The French president is also trying to restore some of the glow that he is losing inside France on a personal level and that his country is losing in its regional position. As for the historical relations between Lebanon and France, they have ended since the departure of General Charles de Gaulle. A review of the relations between the two countries in the last fifty years clearly shows that Lebanon and its Christians have become outside the circle of French interest. After de Gaulle, the technocrats came to power with…

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