The Arab Spring Forum organized by the French Foreign Ministry, attended by Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, at l'Institut du Monde Arabe in the Rafik Hariri Hall, demonstrated new courage and frankness of French diplomacy toward the changes taking place in the Arab world. The list of invitees included activists from Egypt, Tunisia and Syria, as well as French and Arab intellectuals and diplomats, and discussions took place in a language that was far different than that traditionally used before diplomats and political officials. Juppe sought to explain the new principles of French diplomacy to Arab diplomats. Most Arab ambassadors, or their representatives, attended, and before the opening, the French minister gathered all of France's ambassadors in the Arab world, who also attended the seminar, in order to understand the developments in the Arab world before setting a new policy. It was obvious that Juppe's speech at the closing of the forum represented a new phase of French policy toward the Arab world. Prior to the event, Juppe told Al-Hayat newspaper that no one expected these developments, and said that “we wagered up to the end on the stability of Mediterranean countries because this suited us; but now things have exploded in our faces, from Morocco to Yemen, so how can we explain that we did not understand or see” [the changes coming]? The seminar was organized by the Foreign Ministry's concerned directorates: Middle East and North Africa, headed by Ambassador Patrice Paoli, a skilled diplomat and orientalist who knows the Arab world very well; Diplomatic Planning, headed by Joseph Maila, with wide experience in Arab affairs; and Globalization, led by Christian Masset, who is specialized in economic issues, which has played a key role in the uprisings. The seminar's success lay in the large turnout by French and Arab figures, with active participation by the foreign minister, who, on an exceptional basis, attended all of the sessions and heard the accounts of activists and how the revolutions changed the course of events in Egypt and Tunisia. Juppe's closing address certainly reiterated the new orientations of French policy during this phase of changes in the Arab world, in light of what is taking place and what he heard during the seminar and during his visits to Egypt and Tunisia, where he met with activists, officials and members of civil society. In his address, Juppe said that the Arab Spring should not frighten us, as it is the result of exceptional courage and opens up big hopes, but also constitutes a huge challenge. From now on, governments know that they must allow their citizens' voices to be heard, and everyone knows it is no longer possible to suppress the people's legitimate aspirations. But each country has its own special features and it is up to each people to build their future by themselves, and create their own models. What Juppe has deduced from the Arab Spring is that France must guarantee the respect of human rights, while in the past it was hesitant about this movement, out of a fear of the threat of extremism. Juppe made it clear that France will be firm when it comes to any violation of human rights, as it was in Libya, and based on the danger of the situation. He added, “We will use every means at our disposal to limit [such violations]. There are several mechanisms, including sanctions and the use of force in the worst cases, under the umbrella of the Security Council.” Juppe also made it clear that France's new policy was not aimed at regime change, but was based on international law and the responsibility to offer protection, as in the Libyan case. In his speech, the minister affirmed that the socio-economic situation represents the difficult challenge. He pointed out the need to help peoples that have experienced revolutions. The economy, and an improvement in the situation of people who are drowning in poverty, must be addressed, or else these peoples will move toward extremism if the situation remains as it is over the next six months to a year. France has adopted a new policy, based on not ignoring repression and human rights violations, and making huge efforts to help its neighbors on the southern coast of the Mediterranean achieve economic recovery, while acknowledging that it is no longer forbidden to engage in dialogue and discussion with Islamist movements, provided that they respect democratic principles and abandon violence. He did not forget to affirm the importance of helping the Palestinian people turn a Palestinian state into a reality, or his commitment to a free and sovereign Lebanon, so that it remains a model of vital democratic institutions in the Arab world. France has certainly laid down the new features of the policy it will focus on in the Arab world. However, the question remains: will the difficult economic challenge let it achieve what it wants in light of the poor economic situation in France and Europe?
