IMAGE: Former Al-Qaeda leader in Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was given a state reception in Paris on Wednesday by embattled French President Emmanuel Macron.
After meeting with Merz, Germany’s newly elected Chancellor, who travelled to Paris less than twenty-four hours after his election, embattled French President Emmanuel Macron is now hosting wanted terrorist, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is Syria’s newly self-appointed ‘president’ in Paris. Al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, is the founder and leader of the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, notorious for orchestrating some of the most severe sectarian atrocities in the past decade. He was also a deputy leader to Islamic State (IS) ‘caliph’ Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (the Ghost), who sent al-Jolani to Syria with funding to establish al-Qaeda’s public-facing terrorist organisation known as al-Nusra Front, a covert faction tied to the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Al-Nusra Front was later rebranded to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Despite a UN travel ban and being on multiple terrorist wanted lists, Al-Shara’s visit to Paris marks the first known visit of Syria’s controversial leader to a Western country.
Since December 2024, Saudi born Ahmed al-Sharaa is said to have transitioned from being an al-Qaeda and jihadist warlord to being portrayed as Syria’s new ‘democratic reformer’, following the downfall of Assad. Despite numerous Western-supported polished public relations efforts aimed at rebranding al-Jolani as a reformed jihadist, who has allegedly adopted Western values and democratic principles, al-Jolani continues to operate a Salafi-jihadist enterprise, adhering to its established methods, which include assassination, torture, public executions, and ethnic cleansing, just to name a few.
Over the last year alone, he has been implicated in:
▪️ The massacre of over 1,600 Alawite civilians along the Syrian coast
▪️ A renewed offensive against the Druze community in Idlib
▪️ Systematic executions, mass graves, and media censorship.
Meanwhile, Western and Gulf corporations are lining up to divide the spoils of regime change in Syria. CMA CGM, a prominent logistics firm in France, has recently entered into a 30-year agreement to manage the port of Latakia in Syria. Unfortunately, this development does not signify Syria’s liberation; rather, it reflects a shift in power dynamics, with Western interests favoring those who align with their agendas concerning oil, ports, and pipelines.
France seeks to sponsor the resolution of energy production issues in the Eastern Mediterranean—evident in the virtual summit Macron held with al-Shara, and the leaders of Lebanon, Cyprus, and Greece on March 28th.
At present, Ahmed al-Shara has emerged as the favored figure endorsed by neo-imperial forces, despite the ongoing actions of his terrorist group HTS, which include the abduction of civilians, the destruction of villages, pogroms against religious and ethnic minorities across Syria, and a mass disinformation campaign to suppress the truth about crimes against humanity committed by Ahmed al-Shara and the armed criminal gangs he commands. Concurrently, Syria’s self-styled ‘foreign minister’, Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, is actively seeking support from Brussels for IMF ‘assistance’ and EU investments (foreign privatisation schemes).
Considering France’s advanced ties with Iraq, Lebanon – and now Syria, this could afford Paris significant some much-needed strategic leverage in the region known as the ‘Shia crescent’, which has been under Iranian influence since 2003.
National Rally leader Marine Le Pen
It is particularly concerning that Macron’s invitation serves to bolster the international legitimacy of a recognised terrorist and his armed junta government, especially in the context of their recent ethnic cleansing operations by al-Shara’s gangs against the Syria’s Alawite community.
Last month, France designated a chargé d’affaires in Damascus, accompanied by a limited group of diplomats, as part of its efforts to completely restore operations at its embassy.
“Stupefaction and dismay” were the words used by French rightwing leader Marine Le Pen, to describing Macron’s endorsement of the Syrian president who is “a jihadist who has been through Daesh and Al-Qaeda.”
In April, the Paris prosecutor approved the complaint filed by the Franco-Alawite Collective (CFA) against Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, in which the CFA accuses him and members of his government of “genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
The Franco-Alawite Collective has called for a demonstration in Paris this afternoon…
VIDEO: Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed on the steps of the Elysee Palace by French President Emmanuel Macron (Source: X Account @SimNasr
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Charles Carrasco reports for ‘L’EXPRESS…
(Translated from French to English)
Syria: Ahmed al-Sharaa, Emmanuel Macron’s risky bet
Middle East: By receiving the new strongman of Syria, where sectarian violence is increasing, the French president is taking a diplomatic risk.
Emmanuel Macron’s invitation was extended in February, and it was the Syrian President’s choice to pick France for his very first visit to Europe since taking power in Syria at the end of January. The French head of state is receiving the new strongman of Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa , at the Élysée Palace this Wednesday, May 7, to whom he will reiterate “France’s support for the construction of a new, free, stable, sovereign Syria that respects all components of society,” according to the Élysée Palace.
Behind this diplomatic language, France, which hosted the International Conference to Support the Transition in Syria in February, set very clear conditions: the establishment of an inclusive government integrating the various components of civil society, and guarantees for the security and freedom of the population, particularly for minorities and women. Discussions described at the time as “entirely positive” with the Islamist coalition…
Except that five months after the overthrow of the bloodthirsty dictator Bashar al-Assad, the reassuring veneer of the new power is cracking everywhere. The interim president, who may well wear suits and surround himself with communicators, remains the head of an “HTC government” [Editor’s note: the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, whose founder is the current interim Syrian president], the former Syrian jihadist branch of Al-Qaeda. Of the 23 members of the Syrian executive, which has no prime minister, only four are from minorities—a Christian, a Druze, a Kurd, and an Alawite. None hold a key portfolio or have any real power.
Conflicts between different faiths
The expected harmony quickly gave way to sectarian conflicts within the Syrian mosaic. In March, massacres left 1,700 dead among the Alawites—the ethnic and religious group of the Assad clan. Today, the same hatred is targeting the Druze, perceived as “heretics” by the Sunnis. It was the circulation on social media of an audio message attributed to a Druze and deemed blasphemous against the Prophet Muhammad that apparently sparked the outbreak.
Their most influential religious leader, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajrin, could not find words harsh enough to describe the “genocidal campaign” targeting “civilians” in his community, following violence between armed groups linked to the government and Druze fighters that has already left at least a hundred dead, according to an NGO. Behind these clashes are Druze aspirations to achieve autonomy along the lines of the Kurdish model. But for the new regime in Damascus, this is out of the question, as it dreams of establishing a more centralised Islamic republic.
This ruling Islamist coalition is also fueling regional tensions. By striking the area around the presidential palace on April 2 to protect the Druze minority, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also sent Ahmed al-Sharaa a very clear message. Israel has no intention of seeing armed Islamist forces near its borders. “The Israeli strategy is rather to encourage any counter-power against new regimes, including by exacerbating sectarian divisions. Netanyahu has explicitly stated that he rejects the installation of the new Syrian army and HTC,” Fabrice Balanche, a leading specialist on the region, recently analysed in the columns of L’Express.
“A red carpet for [The Islamic State (IS)] Daesh”
With this visit to France, Ahmed al-Sharaa will therefore attempt to restore his innocence with Western partners, particularly France. “Not engaging in dialogue with these transitional authorities “would be irresponsible towards the French and, above all, it would be a red carpet for Daesh,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. According to him, “the fight against terrorism, the control of migratory flows, the control of drug trafficking,” as well as the “future of neighboring Lebanon,” “all this is being played out in Syria.”
The French presidency has dismissed any “naiveté,” asserting that it knows “the past” of certain Syrian leaders and demanding that there be “no complacency” with “terrorist movements.” The head of state will therefore ask his guest “to ensure that the fight against impunity is a reality” and that “those responsible for atrocities against civilians” are “judged,” his entourage added.
Between Syria and France, the interests are mutual. Damascus now needs to obtain the complete lifting of sanctions imposed when Bashar al-Assad was in power. And Paris also hopes to get its share of the pie in Syria, as in Lebanon—two countries where it exercised a colonial mandate in the first half of the 20th century.
French economic interests are significant. Last week, logistics giant CMA CGM signed a thirty-year contract with Damascus to develop and operate the port of Latakia, in the presence of President Ahmed al-Sharaa. While many regional powers are vying for this sphere of influence, notably Erdogan’s Turkey, and ahead of Donald Trump’s trip to the Gulf (May 13-16), Emmanuel Macron is placing his pawns.
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