Join Michel Duclos, ambassador to Damascus between 2006 and 2009, and Xavier Yvon to discuss Michel Duclos’ latest book La longue nuit syrienne, in which he offers a personal vision of the conflict in Syria, describing the root causes of the civil war from the perspective of a French diplomat on the ground.

With acute insights on a divided and traumatised society, Ambassador Duclos analyses a viciously brutal regime, and a man – Bashar al-Assad – whose intimate portrait is extraordinarily revealing. Based on a long experience in international politics and at the United Nations, this essay also sheds light on the American reluctance to use force. Such reluctance contrasts with the new assertiveness of the Russian, and paved the way for the rise of Daesh and its subsequent tragic consequences in and around Syria. The Syrian quagmire has had profound geopolitical effects in Europe and elsewhere to the benefit of authoritarian regimes, which now tend to dominate the world scene.

In French. Free and open to the public. No RSVP necessary.

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A career French diplomat, Michel Duclos has served in numerous positions, including at the French mission to the UN (2002-2006) and as an Ambassador in Syria (2006-2009). He is now special advisor to Institut Montaigne, a Paris-based think-tank, and a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

Xavier Yvon is a French journalist and U.S.-based correspondent for Europe 1.