Libya: French Recognition of the Libyan Rebels is a Gamble
We don’t know if French President Nicolas Sarkozy is a poker player but he obviously gambled today. By the end of the morning, France has become the first country to recognise the National Libyan Council (NLC) of Benghazi as the only legitimate government of the country.
This decision was unilaterally announced, apparently without any prior contact with France’s European partners. It comes a day after the European Parliament urged the E.U. to recognise the rebels as both NATO and the European Union have important meetings today and tomorrow in Brussels to discuss the situation and try to find a common ground on the crisis. Those meetings will culminate this Friday with a summit of the European Chiefs of States and Prime Ministers.
The French decision is a politically risky one: