France–Turkey relations

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French–Turkish relations
Map indicating locations of France and Turkey

France
Turkey
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of France, AnkaraEmbassy of Turkey, Paris

French–Turkish relations cover a long period from the 16th century to the present, starting with the alliance established between

Napoleon I
in 1798, and the dawn of the modern era. Both countries are members of the Council of Europe and NATO. France opposes Turkey's European Union membership.

History

Battle of Nicopolis

Execution of Christian prisoners by Bayezid I after the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Froissart's Chronicles[1]

In 1396,

Ottoman sultan Bayezid I, but, unlike many of his companions, escaped execution and was eventually ransomed. From France, it was said about 5,000 knights and squires joined, and were accompanied by 6,000 archers and foot soldiers drawn from the best volunteer and mercenary companies; totalling some 11,000 men.[2] Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, the Constable of France, was captured in the battle, and subsequently died in captivity.[3]

Franco-Ottoman alliance

Main article: Franco-Ottoman alliance
Letter of Suleiman the Magnificent to Francis I of France regarding the protection of Christians in his states. September 1528. Archives Nationales, Paris, France.

The Franco-Ottoman alliance, also Franco-Turkish alliance, was an alliance established in 1536 between the king of

Bosnia.[4]

In December 1525 a second mission was sent, led by

Jean de la Forest in that year, France had an ambassadorial representative in Turkey ever since. These privileged trading conditions were to mark the relations, both in commercial terms and beyond, till their abolition with the Treaty of Lausanne
in 1923, and to gradually increasing disadvantage and decreasing leverage for the Ottomans.

Relations during the Ottoman decline

Bombardment of Algiers by the fleet of Admiral Duquesne in 1682
French campaign in Syria against the Ottoman forces in 1799

In 1663, the Ottomans launched a disastrous

invasion of the Habsburg Monarchy, ending at the Battle of St. Gotthard. The battle was won by the Christians, chiefly through the attack of 6,000 French troops led by La Feuillade and Coligny.[5]

In 1669, during the

Francois de Beaufort led the French troops defending the Venetian-ruled Candia (modern Heraklion
, Crete) against the Ottoman Turks.

The

Ottoman Algeria were a major problem throughout the centuries, leading to regular punitive expeditions by France (1661, 1665, 1682, 1683, 1688).[6] French admiral Abraham Duquesne fought the Barbary corsairs in 1681 and bombarded Algiers between 1682 and 1683, to help Christian captives.[7]

The intensity of the contacts is demonstrated by the opening of up to forty French consulates, often focused on trade relations, in Ottoman lands in the 18th century. [citation needed] The first Turkish representative invested with an extended period mission to the Parisian court was Yirmisekiz Mehmed Çelebi, in the beginning of the 18th century, at a time when the Ottoman Empire sought to grasp the reasons for its loss of prominence as compared to the European powers.

The two countries have been in a state of war three times.[

Accord of Ankara signed on 20 October 1921 between the two countries, France became the first western power to abandon the claims that had been instituted by the Treaty of Sèvres and effectively recognize the new Turkish governments based in Ankara
.

Expansion of French language in Turkey

French is the language associated with the Tanzimat period of reforms (1839–1876) in Turkish history. Apart from those involved in politics and diplomacy, also the authors and their immediate public during the various successive stages of modern Turkish literature overwhelmingly had the French language as their primary Western reference. Its preponderance as the first foreign language acquired by members of Turkey's educated classes lasted well into the Republic of Turkey, in fact until quite recently. Currently, English is the overwhelmingly popular choice amongst Turks learning a foreign language, having supplanted French long ago.[8] Although there are fewer Turks today who learn French as their sole foreign language, its knowledge is still very well represented among the intelligentsia and as such, highly valued, often considered a privilege by those who have command of it. [citation needed]

According to a 2006 European Commission report, 3% of Turkish residents are able to carry on a conversation in French. The recently growing immigrant communities of Turkish origin, at all levels of the society, in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada also helped strengthen the position of the knowledge of French in Turkey, both in qualitative and quantitative terms. In Canada, the vast majority of Turkish-Canadians are settled in anglophone areas, limiting their exposure to the French language.[citation needed]

Accession of Turkey to the European Union

See also:
French Ambassador to Turkey
French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel when giving a press conference as part of 2018 Syria summit in Istanbul, Turkey.

In 2004, President Jacques Chirac said that France will hold a referendum on Turkey's entry into the EU when the issue arises, and any further EU enlargement will also be subject to a popular vote.[9]

In 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy stated that "Turkey has no place inside the European Union." Sarkozy continued, "I want to say that Europe must give itself borders, that not all countries have a vocation to become members of Europe, beginning with Turkey which has no place inside the European Union."[10]

France's position on Turkey's EU accession was unchanged a decade later. In 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that “ As far as the relationship with the European Union is concerned, it is clear that recent developments and choices do not allow any progression of the process in which we are engaged”. [11]

Trade

With the open market conditions (for industrial products) set off with the

Dollars
in 2000, and with France registering a clear surplus. Turkey became France's third largest trade partner outside the EU and France became Turkey's third largest partner overall. The loss of impetus caused by the late 2000 and early 2001 financial breakdowns in Turkey were already compensated for in 2002.

Until recently, Turkey still attracted a modest share in global

pharmaceutical industries.[12]

Armenian genocide

Following approval of a French bill on 22 December 2011 that would make denial of the Armenian genocide a crime punishable by one-year prison sentence and a fine of €45,000 (about $61,387), the Turkish government froze bilateral relations and political meetings with France. Turkey also cancelled permission for French warships to dock and French military planes to land in Turkey, and every French military plane would have to request permission for every flight in order to use Turkish airspace.[13][14] The Turkish government had previously warned the French government that passage of the bill in the senate, whereupon it would become law, would irreparably damage bilateral relations.[15]

Because Turkey cut off access to its airspace and sea lanes to French forces, France has had to deal with a military logistics problem, and found it difficult to get its troops to and from Afghanistan, since any other route was deemed both risky and "too costly", according to the French Defence Minister Gérard Longuet.[16]

On 28 February 2012, France's Constitutional Council ruled that the new law is unconstitutional and invalidated the law.

Holocaust.[18]

Murders of
PKK
activists in Paris

Kurdish activist Fidan Doğan was assassinated in Paris in 2013.[19]

Turkey's

2013 murders of three Kurdish activists in Paris.[20]

Operation Sea Guardian

Main articles: Operation Sea Guardian and Libyan Crisis (2011–present)

On June 17, 2020, France accused Turkey that Turkish ships harassed a French warship which tried to check a Turkish vessel, which was suspected of smuggling arms to Libya, and that the Turkish navy is using their NATO call signals while accompanying Turkish vessels suspected of breaking the UN arms embargo in Libya.[21] According to French officials, when the French ship tried to check the vessel, the Turkish vessel switched off its tracking system, masked its ID number and refused to say where it was going while the Turkish frigates flashed their radar lights three times against the French warship, suggesting a missile strike was imminent.[22] On the other hand, Turkish officials, denied that the warship was harassed and claimed that the French warship did not establish communications with the Turkish vessel during the incident.[23][24] On June 18, NATO said that it will investigate the incident.[25]

Erdoğan-Macron controversies

Further information: Murder of Samuel Paty

In November 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron criticized the Turkish invasion of north-eastern Syria, describing the offensive as contributing to "brain death" in NATO by undermining coordination between allies. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan replied by claiming Macron had a shallow understanding of NATO, adding that Macron may be "brain dead".[26]

In October 2020, after

Islamist terrorist for showing caricatures of Mohammed during a lecture about freedom of expression,[27] the two presidents clashed again in their comments about the murder. Macron referred to the murder as indicative of broader 'Islamic separatism' which the French state would combat, while Erdoğan responded publicly by suggesting that Macron required mental health treatment. Following this comment, France recalled its ambassador from Turkey.[28] Erdoğan then called on Turkish citizens to boycott French products.[29] The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo subsequently published a cover depicting a debauched Erdoğan, which elicited threats from the Turkish government of "legal, diplomatic actions" concerning its publication.[30]

In 2021, the French President said in an interview that Turkey will attempt to interfere in the 2022 French presidential election by “playing on public opinion.” He added that Turkey distorted his comments on Islam and spread lies from media controlled by Turkey and Qatar.[31] Turkey rejected the claims about the election interference.[32]

Resident diplomatic missions

  • Consulate-General of France in Istanbul
    Consulate-General of France in Istanbul
  • Embassy of Turkey in Paris
    Embassy of Turkey in Paris
  • Consulate-General of Turkey in Lyon
    Consulate-General of Turkey in Lyon
  • Consulate-General of Turkey in Nantes
    Consulate-General of Turkey in Nantes
  • Consulate-General of Turkey in Strasbourg
    Consulate-General of Turkey in Strasbourg

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "BnF - Miniatures flamandes". expositions.bnf.fr.
  2. ^ A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle ... , by Spencer C. Tucker, 2009 p.316
  3. ^ Wilson, Katherine M. (1984). Medieval women writers. Manchester University Press. p. 360.
  4. ^ a b Merriman, p.129
  5. ^ Count Miklós Zrínyi, the Poet-Warlord Archived 3 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ISBN 978-90-04-15388-2
    .
  7. ^ Martin, Henri (1864). Martin's History of France. Walker, Wise & Co. p. 522.
  8. doi:10.1080/01434639808666340
    .
  9. ^ Gentleman, Amelia (October 2, 2004). "French public given veto on Turkey's EU membership". The Guardian. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  10. ^ Kubosova, Lucia (January 15, 2007). "Sarkozy launches presidential bid with anti-Turkey stance". EUobserver. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  11. ^ "Macron tells Erdogan: No chance of Turkey joining EU". BBC News. January 5, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Embassy of France in Turkey
  13. ^ Brown, Rachael (December 23, 2011). "French-Turkish relations on ice over Armenian killings". abc.net.au.
  14. ^ Polden, Valerie (December 22, 2011). "Turkey Freezes Relationship with France over Genocide Bill". coupmedia.org. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  15. ^ "Turkey's parliament: The approval of the bill on penalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide in France may damage the Turkish-French relations". arminfo.info. December 14, 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  16. ^ Kucera, Joshua (February 10, 2012). "France: No Room For Maneuver in Uzbekistan, Turkey". Eurasianet. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  17. ^ "French genocide law ruling averts 'serious crisis': Turkey". The Daily Star. February 28, 2012. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  18. ^ "Communication No 550/1993 : France. 16/12/96. CCPR/C/58/D/550/1993. (Jurisprudence)". United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  19. ^ "Suspect in murders of Kurdish activists dies in Paris hospital". France 24. 17 December 2016.
  20. ^ Worley, Will (September 27, 2016). "Turkish intelligence services implicated in unsolved London murder, court documents say". The Independent. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  21. ^ "NATO must deal with, not ignore Turkish problem: French official". reuters.com. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Turkey navy accused of harassing French frigate in Med". aroundworld24.com. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Turkey navy accused of harassing French frigate in Med". middleeastmonitor.com. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Turkish Military Official Denies French Claim That Warship Was Harassed". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  25. ^ "NATO to investigate Mediterranean incident with Turkey". reuters.com. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  26. ^ Keohane, David; Pitel, Laura (November 29, 2019). "Turkey's Erdogan calls Macron 'brain-dead' over Nato comments". Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  27. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  28. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  29. ^ "Turkey's Erdogan urges French goods boycott amid Islam row". BBC News. 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  30. ^ Pitel, Laura; Mallet, Victor (28 October 2020). "Turkey vows legal action over Charlie Hebdo cartoon". Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  31. ^ Macron claims Ankara interference in polls
  32. ^ Turkey rejects Macron’s claim of possible vote interference

External links

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