Iraq News Now

France's President Emmanuel Macron might be attempting to restore French influence in Iraq amid Iranian hegemony over the country’s  political system.

Iraqi analysts say that Macron’s vows regarding French presence in Iraq are reminiscent of his vows in Lebanon, which were scuppered because of the level of Iranian influence exercised on the Lebanese system through Hezbollah.

“No matter what choices the Americans make, we will maintain our presence in Iraq to fight against terrorism,”  as long as the Iraqi government wanted it, he told a news conference on Saturday.

During his visit to Mosul,  the French president voiced support for the Christians of Iraq in a way that is reminiscent of France’s guardianship over Christians in Lebanon.

This, according to analysts, seems to suggest that France is seeking to recreate the same conditions that led to its failed role in Lebanon.

Iraqi Christians in particular complain of discrimination and lack of assistance from the government in restoring their homes and properties confiscated during the conflict by powerful armed groups.

In a speech at the devastated city’s Church of Our Lady of the Hour, which the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO is working to restore, Macron urged Iraq’s religious communities to “work together” to rebuild the country.

“We are here to stress the importance of Mosul and to express appreciation for all the sects that make up Iraqi society,” he said adding that “the reconstruction process is slow, very slow.” Macron announced France’s intention to open schools and a consulate in the city.

France, which finances French-speaking Christian schools in the region, is seeking to highlight the plight of Christians in the Middle East, as well as other minorities. Pope Francis visited Iraq in March and also went to the ancient Mosul church.

One analyst said that, “Macron can be helped in his mission by French companies that know Iraqi issues very well, from weapons to electricity to the Baghdad metro. The question however is whether France finances these projects”.

According to the analyst, “France is not in a comfortable financial situation and neither is Iraq, which can be considered a bankrupt country after the successive pro-Iranian governments since 2006 squandered all the money that entered the treasury at a time when the price of a barrel of oil was quite high.”

France has lost its influence in Iraq since the 1991 war, when the late French President Francois Mitterrand decided to join the US-led coalition to liberate Kuwait. Paris had maintained a high profile presence in Iraq during the eighties.

Iraq today faces a series of crises on top of its endemic security tensions. The population suffers from electricity shortages because  the country relies heavily on now-intermittent supplies from neighbouring Iran. The authorities have also to reckon with the deterioration of infrastructure and services along with the economic slump exacerbated by the decline in oil prices and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.