The most recent cartoons of the Messenger ... What are the most prominent files of the clash between Turkey and France?

The rivalry between Turkey and France is renewed and rapidly expanding with the increasing files of disagreement that had already accumulated for decades between the two countries.

The current crisis raised by the insulting cartoons of the Holy Prophet indicates a series of files in which Ankara collides with Paris, starting from the Armenian Genocide Act to a definitive French rejection of Turkey's joining the European Union, through the clash in the files of Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean and Syria, to Africa, which has become Turkey. Take care of her.

Historical background The

Turkish-French relations have always relied on a third element outside the framework of the bilateral equation in understanding or quarreling between the two countries. The alliance that took place between the Ottomans during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent and the French during the reign of Francois I was caused by the latter’s hostility to the King of Spain, Charles V, and these good relations continued for more Two centuries ago, they quarreled over Napoleon's occupation of Egypt.

The following is a review of the most prominent files on which Turkey and France stand on opposite sides, and over the past years they have formed an arena for conflict:

The Turkish-French dispute was evident in the exchanged statements between the two countries ’presidents regarding several files (Al-Jazeera)

Turkey’s accession to the European Union The

issue of Turkey’s accession to

represented the main start of the escalation of the rivalry between the two countries. The statements of French officials contributed to feeding an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust, especially after the French Valery Giscard d'Estaing, President of the Conference on the Future of Europe, wrote in an article in Le Monde newspaper on November 9th. 2002 that "Turkey is a country close to Europe, but it is not a European country."

Among the factors that worsen the relationship is the expression of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy about "the impossibility of a country with 80 million Muslims joining the Union," as well as the current President Emmanuel Macron's description of the Turkish president's policy "as an Islamic national project that is usually presented as anti-European."

Allegations of the Armenian massacre

On December 22, 2011, Turkey froze its relations with France, and then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decision to prevent French military aircraft from landing on Turkish territory, as well as French warships from landing in Turkish ports, and to suspend all joint military exercises He also summoned the Turkish ambassador to France as a reaction to the approval of the French Parliament on the law criminalizing the massacres of Armenians during the First World War.

French President Emmanuel Macron declared in 2019 that April 24 is a national day marking what Paris considers a memory of "genocide", while the Turkish response came by accusing France of committing genocide during its occupation of Algeria and Rwanda.

The Syrian crisis,

Turkey accuses France of supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Syrian Democratic Forces, which Turkey is fighting under the cloak of fighting ISIS.

France has also deployed special military forces in the areas controlled by these organizations in northeastern Syria since 2016.

In an interview with The Economist in November 2019, Macron considered NATO in a state of "brain death" after its inability to carry out any reaction to the Turkish military operation in October 2019 against Kurdish sites, and so on. Erdogan's answer was only to say, "You must examine your brain death."

And the French National Assembly had previously adopted a draft resolution condemning the "Peace Spring", and the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Marielle de Sarnes, submitted the draft resolution, which won the approval of 121 deputies without any opposition.

The Libyan file The

choice of France in coordination with Egypt and the UAE to support the retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, fueled its differences with Turkey, the main supporter of the Libyan Government of National Accord, when the escalation of the discord reached Macron's statement that Turkey bears historical and criminal responsibility in the Libyan conflict.

The collision between the navies of the two countries in June 2020 complicated the Turkish-French dispute over Libya, as France accused the Turkish navy of harassing the frigate Courbet, and after this incident France decided to withdraw from the NATO maneuvers, the "sea guard" tasked with making sure that the imposed international blockade was not violated. On the supply of weapons to the parties to the conflict in Libya.

Turkish citizens gathered at the Hagia Sophia Mosque as soon as a decision was issued to reopen it to worshipers (Al-Jazeera)

The Hagia Sophia Mosque The

conversion of the Hagia Sophia Museum into a mosque again France considered a "provocation to the civilized world," as it expressed its regret for this change, which affected one of the most prominent symbols of Turkey's secularism.

Turkey's response was not late, stressing that no one has the right to impose dictations on an issue related to the country's sovereign rights.

Eastern Mediterranean The

issue of exploiting natural resources (gas and oil) in the eastern Mediterranean is one of the files that also fuel the Turkish-French conflict.

The increasing exploration operations by Turkish ships anger France, which closely supports the positions of Greek Cyprus and Greece at the expense of the interests of Turkish Cyprus and Turkey, to the point that France sends military reinforcements to the region in support of Greece.

The file of the exploitation of natural resources in the Mediterranean has become more complicated and sensitive after Turkey signed a security cooperation treaty and the delineation of maritime zones with the Libyan Government of National Accord, to the point that France considered the agreement null.

Africa is a new battlefield for the

Turkish diplomatic and economic dynamism in Africa that seriously annoys France, considering that this continent was until recently a pure strategic space for Paris based on the legacy of the colonial period.

For more than 20 years, the Turkish presence in African countries has increased strongly. Ankara now has more than 41 diplomatic representations in the continent, in addition to strengthening the activity of its development agency "TIKA" and the increase in the number of Turkish Airlines flights.

On the economic level, Turkish companies are winning more requests for offers and deals related to infrastructure, despite the strong and historical competition of European countries, especially France.

Logistically, Turkey has managed to strengthen the dynamics of transporting goods and passengers, so that the new Istanbul airport has now become a central point linking African countries with the rest of the world.

The increasing hostility of the French diplomacy to Turkey is fueled by the feeling of strong and increasing competition on a continent that was until recently a geostrategic space protected from Ankara's ambitions.

Insulting cartoons of the Messenger

In recent days, France has witnessed the publication of insulting pictures and drawings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, on the facades of some buildings.

On October 21, Macron said in a press statement that France would not abandon the "cartoons," which called on the Turkish president to put an end to what he called the French president's anti-Islam agenda, and also called on the Turkish people to boycott French goods.

He said Macron needs mental care.

For its part, the French presidency said that "Erdogan's statements are unacceptable," and announced the recall of its ambassador to Ankara.

Why the Turkish-French clash?

The Turkish researcher on Turkish relations, Taha Odehoglu, mentions that the French-Turkish competition has reached its climax in many arenas in the region, and despite European efforts to calm down, the growing contentious files caused a major rift in the relationship between the two countries.

Davutoglu said to Al-Jazeera Net, "Although the two countries are members of NATO and participate in the international coalition to fight ISIS, the files of clash increase with Turkey's tendency to compete with the French presence in West Africa through Niger."

He added, "Macron continues to follow the approach of his predecessors from the presidents of France towards Turkey and to create new problems that are added to old files of tension," noting that Macron seeks to appear as a European leader concerned with the interests of the Union as a whole, so he seeks to appear as the owner of the decisive decisions in the events.