Analysis: The French president's historic visit is being celebrated in Paris as a diplomatic triumph; from Jerusalem, it looks like the rehabilitation of an Islamist regime on Israel's border, purchased with port contracts and polite language

Macron visited Lebanon in January 2025, and Saudi Arabia in December 2024, attempting to increase France’s role in the region.

The visit underlines Syria's geopolitical transformation under Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander who has established close ties with Western and Middle Eastern powers that…