On Tuesday, the new Consul General of France in
Jerusalem, Hervé Magrot, made his official entrance to the Holy City, in
keeping with a century-old tradition, according to which, the French
Consul General is the only foreign diplomat who has the privilege of
making an official visit to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.
The
solemn ceremony involved a procession from Jaffa Gate to the Basilica of
St. Anne, is a historic tradition marking France’s role as “protector”
of the Christians in the Holy Land.
Its origins lie in an agreement signed between the
most Catholic among kings, Francis I and Suleiman the Magnificent in
1535 – the first of a series of Capitulations. The agreement, which was
signed in the spirit of an alliance against Charles V, recognised
France’s special role as protector of the Christians in the Holy Land.
This role was further reinforced by the establishment of a French
consulate in Jerusalem under Louis XIII and by a number of
interventions relating to the jurisdiction over the Holy Places and the
protection of Christian minorities across the Middle East (for example
in Lebanon).
Jerusalem, more than any other place sees history as more
than just a past memory and Mr. Magrot wished to make it immediately
clear he was aware of this. In his welcome speech he stressed that the
protection of Christians in the Middle East was something that was close
to his heart: Indeed, local Christian communities have expressed a
great deal of discontent over France’s stance in relation to the Syrian
conflict.
The fact that Paris supported Syria’s opposition forces was
seen by most Middle Eastern Christians as a green light to Islamist
militia. France was therefore seen to be failing in its duty to protect
Christians, an age-long commitment which was even respected during the
Revolution of 1789 and even survived the laicité of the 1905 French legislation on the separation of the Churches and the State.
This discontent comes just as another aspiring “protector” of Christians comes on the scene – as Vatican Insider
reported some days ago -: Many Christians in the Middle East are
beginning to see Putin’s Russia is being seen with an increasingly
favourable eye. This is the context in which Mr. Magrot’s words about
France not intending to duck out of a duty history has handed down to
it.
“France, in this context, has always played a
special role in its history and in the present. With its institutions
and its traditions, France continues to keep alive and vibrant its
relationship with this city … In a time when everything in the world
seems to change, even here in the Middle East, this simple and ancient
rite of welcoming a civil personality in a religious place, reminds us
of the contribution that all together, each for their own part, we must
give to continue to preserve the unique character of the Holy City,
respecting the different religious identities that compose it and
building with ever greater determination occasions of encounter and
friendship.”
Naturally only time will tell whether these words will be
acted upon. The decisions France takes in relation to the Syrian
conflict will be an important litmus test.
But the Consul’s words are
also indicative of the fear Russian expansionism is beginning to trigger
among Western governments, in the context of the big Middle Eastern
card shuffling.
The issue of guarantees for Christians in the Muslim
world is coming to the fore once again.
For a long time now guarantees
for Christians have been sacrificed in the name of other interests.