French politicians and parties have commented on the recent fall of the Syrian regime, highlighting the potential risks this could bring for the Kurdish people living in the country. They reiterated their support for Rojava, the region governed by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), and called for sovereignty for Syria.
The left-wing party La France Insoumise, founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, issued a statement calling for a cautious assessment of the coalition of fighters who defeated Assad, because of the earlier links between “their leader and al-Qaeda”. They praised the government of Rojava (North and East Syria) as a model of cooperation between different peoples and ethnicities, adding that it “must be protected from repeated threats and attacks from Turkey”.
Olivier Besancenot, a prominent French political activist and a spokesperson for the New Anticapitalist Party (Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste, NPA) said that he stands in solidarity with the Syrian people “after the fall of the tyrant Assad” and highlighted the need for international support for the “emancipatory project of the Kurdish forces”, referring to the AANES.
French Communist Party General Secretary Fabien Roussel said in a post on X that “war is spreading in the Middle East”, adding, “The peace and security of the Syrian people and that of the Kurdish people under threat must be guaranteed.”
The party shared a statement entitled Only Syrians can decide the future of Syria, expressing solidarity with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). They also affirmed their solidarity with all Kurds in Syria, saying that they are “under threat more than ever” now and that “their right to democratic sovereignity and to live in peace must be recognised”.
Commenting on the fall of the Syrian regime under Bashar al-Assad, the French Left Party stressed that “the Syrian people must regain their sovereignty”. They also said that “Rojava can serve as an example,” explaining that the AANES’s social model of democratic confederalism enables “different ethnic groups and communities” to live together under “very difficult circumstances”.
