Emmanuel Macron arrived in Jordan on Thursday where he spoke with King Abdullah II about humanitarian aid in Gaza and the peace process in the Middle East, before celebrating Christmas with the French forces deployed in this country. The French president, just moving away from three days of political crisis around a controversial law on immigration, chose this year the Middle East, once again shaken by war, for this traditional meeting with the troops.
Lunch between King Abdullah II and Macron
Emmanuel Macron was greeted by the king when he got off the plane in Aqaba (south), on the Red Sea, at 3:50 p.m. local time (12:50 p.m. GMT), noted an AFP journalist. They had a first meeting at the airport before meeting at the royal palace in Aqaba for lunch. Abdallah II put the president in his car and took the wheel to drive him there. The two leaders also held hands on the tarmac red carpet.
Emmanuel Macron had already visited the king on October 25 during a tour of the region intended to mark solidarity with Israel after the bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, and to relaunch the idea of a solution to two states. The two leaders must discuss “joint work in terms of humanitarian and medical aid to the civilian population of Gaza,” said the Elysée.
Two new humanitarian aid cargo flights intended for civilians in the Gaza Strip (scheduled for this Thursday and December 26) will be destined for Amman. The French president will reiterate on this occasion “the urgency of establishing a new immediate truce leading to a lasting ceasefire”, added the French presidency. While recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself, Emmanuel Macron reiterated on Wednesday that this could not lead the country to “raze everything in Gaza” and to “attack civilian populations indiscriminately.”
Macron will address the 350 French soldiers at the base
The head of state is then expected at an air base in Jordan to “highlight France’s lasting commitment to the fight against terrorism”, according to the Elysée. In the midst of political turmoil at home, he will address the 350 French soldiers on the base before a Christmas dinner prepared by the presidential kitchens. These soldiers are part of Operation Chammal which also has 250 men in Iraq and Syria and constitutes the French part of the international coalition launched in 2014 against the Islamic State (IS) group and coordinated by the United States.
The death of three French soldiers this summer in Iraq – a member of the special forces in operation, a soldier in an accident and a third during an “operational exercise” – was a reminder that France was still engaged in the region where the EI remains active. However, “the operation has evolved and focuses on advice, assistance and facilitation missions for the benefit of the Iraqi forces”, specified the Elysée. Strikes in support of Iraqi forces are today “few in number”, according to the same source. Four Rafales are currently based in Jordan.
Since the unprecedented Hamas offensive on Israeli soil which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip, attacks by pro-Iranian militias have increased, particularly in Syria against American bases, with a real risk of escalation, according to the security experts.
A first for Christmas
This is the first time that the French president has visited a planned Air Force air base for Christmas. In December 2022, he traveled with the navy to the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle off the coast of Egypt. In previous years, he had traveled several times to Africa, to Chad or Ivory Coast where the French army was then very committed against terrorism.
Friday, while the president will be at the planned air base in the Levant, the last French soldiers will fly out of Niger, as announced by the military regime in power in this Sahelian country, after more than ten years of anti-jihadist struggle in the region. Driven out of Mali, Burkina Faso and then Niger by hostile juntas, French forces have been partly redeploying in Eastern Europe since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.