LibyaPolitics

How does France look at Libya? “Stability and Money”

The visit of the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul-Hamid Dabaiba, accompanied by a high-ranking delegation, to Paris, on Tuesday, raised questions about the extent of the French interest in Libya, especially since the President of the Presidential Council, Mohammad Menfi, preceded Dabaiba to visit Paris last March, which observers considered a reflection of the importance that the current authorities attach to the French role in Libya to help establish stability.

Observers talk about three main files that France is interested in in Libya, as the file of stability is the first priority for Paris, and it includes the necessity of the withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries from the country, which could be reflected in the security of European countries, especially France, whose President Emmanuel Macron seeks to run in the presidential elections next year, in pursuit of a second term. France is also seeking to stabilize Libya in search of the stability of the Sahel countries, which Paris pays great attention to, specifically Mali and Chad.

These factors push Paris to highlight the file of stability during talks with Libyan officials, and France, like other countries, is counting on the upcoming December elections, to lead to a new legislative authority that chooses a unified executive authority that is acceptable internally and externally.

Since the Berlin Conference held in January 2019, Paris has been working with the Egyptian side and the European and American parties with a political solution, and has supported the efforts of the United Nations that led to the arrival of the new authorities, and it seeks to unify European positions on the developments in the situation in Libya, which was evident during the visit of foreign ministers of France, Germany and Italy to Tripoli last March.

As for the other file that Paris pays attention to in Libya, it is economic and commercial cooperation, as it seeks to reserve its seat in the reconstruction process and that its companies be present, whether in the oil sector or in other sectors, including defense and security.

Paris believes that the large Libyan delegation provides an opportunity for the two sides to have extensive discussions in this regard, knowing the extent of competition with the parties wishing to return to Libya and enter the Libyan market strongly, and to compete with Italy and Turkey, as well as the United States and other parties, economically and commercially.

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