Northeastern Syria (Jazeera) in the Colonial Policy of France in 1936-1938.

Abstract

The article deals with the French policy towards Syria, its mandated territory, in the second half of the 1930s. In the fall of 1936, the French Popular Front government concluded the Franco-Syrian treaty, which implied the imminent termination of the Mandate and independence of Syria. It was an obvious departure from France's traditional policy of supporting national and religious minorities against the Arab national movement. For two years (1937-1938) Syria became a practically autonomous state, the role of Mandate authorities was reduced to a minimum. The discontent soon arose in areas densely populated by minorities. It threatened the unity of Syrian state and gave the French opponents of the Treaty excellent "trump cards". The "colonial party" sought at least to revise, and at the most - to cancel it. The author focuses on the situation in Jazeera, the northeastern region of Syria with especially complicated ethno-confessional situation. In summer of 1937, the “separatist” movement against the Syrian authorities led to a political crisis and bloody clashes. The "colonial party" used it in a propaganda campaign against the Treaty "concluded by the Marxists", which culminated in the pompous visit of the Syro-Catholic prelate Cardinal Tappouni to Paris in November 1937. The Mandate authorities tried to exert a deterrent effect on the "separatists", ostensibly adhering to the letter and spirit of the Treaty. The new French government used the “separatist” factor to make the Syrians renegotiate the terms of the Treaty, easily sacrificing this “card” to make deals on other issues.