Zeynep AzizTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on 5 January 2018, opening a year in which Turkey’s relations with Europe would remain shaped by security cooperation and disputes over democratic standards.
The talks covered the war in Syria and prospective defence cooperation. Before travelling, Erdoğan said he intended to discuss cooperation involving the Franco-Italian EUROSAM consortium, presenting the visit as an opportunity to deepen strategic ties with a NATO partner. Syria was also high on the agenda as Ankara, Paris and other capitals assessed the territorial and political consequences of the campaign against Islamic State.
The meeting nevertheless exposed political distance. Macron publicly raised concerns about human rights and press freedom in Turkey. He also said Turkey’s political trajectory made progress toward European Union membership unlikely under the existing accession framework, while leaving room for a different form of partnership.
The Paris encounter showed the dual character of Franco-Turkish relations: practical collaboration on defence and regional security alongside sharp disagreements about civil liberties and Turkey’s European future. Those tensions would become more visible later in January when Turkey launched a military campaign in Afrin, northern Syria.
