Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence

History

In 1934, France attempted to impose a treaty of independence that was heavily prejudiced in its favor. It promised gradual independence but kept the Syrian Mountains under French control. The Syrian head of state at the time was a French puppet, Muhammad 'Ali Bay al-'Abid. Fierce opposition to this treaty was spearheaded by senior nationalist and parliamentarian Hashim al-Atassi, who called for a sixty-day strike in protest. Atassi's political coalition, the National Bloc, mobilized massive popular support for his call. Riots and demonstrations raged, and the economy came to a standstill.

The new Popular Front-led French government then agreed to recognize the National Bloc as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and invited Hashim al-Atassi to independence negotiations in Paris. He traveled there on 22 March 1936, heading a senior Bloc delegation. The resulting treaty called for immediate recognition of Syrian independence as a sovereign republic, with full emancipation granted gradually over a 25–year period.

The treaty guaranteed incorporation of previously autonomous Druze and Alawite regions into the region of Syria, but not Lebanon, with which France signed a similar treaty in November. The treaty also promised curtailment of French intervention in Syrian domestic affairs as well as a reduction of French troops, personnel and military bases in Syria. In return, Syria pledged to support France in times of war, including the use of its air space, and to allow France to maintain two military bases on Syrian territory. Other political, economic and cultural provisions were included.

Atassi returned to Syria in triumph on 27 September 1936 and was elected President of the Republic in November.

The emerging threat of Adolf Hitler induced a fear of being outflanked by Nazi Germany if France relinquished its colonies in the Middle East. That, coupled with lingering imperialist inclinations in some levels of the French government, led France to reconsider its promises and refuse to ratify the treaty. Also, France ceded the province of Alexandretta, whose territory was guaranteed as part of Syria in the treaty, to Turkey. Riots again broke out, Atassi resigned, and Syrian independence was deferred until after World War II, when the last French troops evacuated in 1946.

Syrian Delegation

References

• Sami Moubayed (2006): "Steel & Silk: Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900–2000" (Cune Press, Seattle, )

• Encyclopædia Britannica

Footnotes

References

1. (1956). "The Sanjak of Alexandretta (Hatay): Its Impact on Turkish-Syrian Relations (1939-1956)". Middle East Journal.
2. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sC-xU8QHSooC&pg=PA170 excerpt] (google books)