From Benghazi to Tripoli: Report Tracks Paris Moves to Unify Institutions and Prepare for Elections
LIBYA – An analytical report highlighted recent talks between the General Commander of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the French president’s special envoy to Libya, Paul Sawyer.
Benghazi Talks and France’s Growing Role
The report, published by London’s Al-Arab Weekly and whose main analytical points were followed by Al-Marsad, said the Benghazi talks form part of efforts by France and President Emmanuel Macron to strengthen Paris’s role in Libya and support a political process aimed at unifying the country’s institutions and paving the way for presidential and legislative elections.
According to the report, Paris attaches importance to maintaining contact with competing centres of power in Libya, noting that French engagement in the Libyan issue continues amid the existing political split and the dispute between the two rival authorities over who runs the country during the transitional period and how state resources are distributed.
Institutional Unification Before Elections
The report argued that institutional unification is a core element of France’s Libya policy, as Paris has increasingly sought to engage actors on both sides rather than relying only on diplomatic pressure from Tripoli or international mediation, at a time when the focus on institutions is growing in importance.
It said this focus stems from concerns that holding presidential and legislative elections without agreement on the structure and legitimacy of the state could reproduce existing political divisions, noting that European governments look to the direct security implications of having a central and effective Libyan authority.
Security Spillover From the Mediterranean to the Sahel
The report added that fragmented institutions have made it harder to control Europe’s long southern borders, combat human trafficking and illegal migration, and address security threats stretching across the Mediterranean to the Sahel.
Paris Between the East and Tripoli
It said France needs to manage its relations carefully with Field Marshal Haftar, as a powerful actor in the east and south, while any political settlement requires the participation of the authorities and political forces based in the capital, Tripoli — meaning, according to the report, that Paris seeks to entrench its position as a bridge between Libya’s competing centres of power.
