France and the Arab Upheavals

Abstract

The consequences of the upheavals across the Middle East and North Africa since December 2010 have posed a significant foreign-policy challenge to France, which has historically distinguished itself from other major Western powers by maintaining a closer relationship with the Arab states, and its former colonies, in this region. Despite this familiarity, however, the incoherence of the French response under President Sarkozy to the turbulence that unfolded early in 2011 suggests that it was caught unawares and, despite apparent success in Libya, Sarkozy's successor Hollande continues to grapple with the impact on French influence in the region.