Abstract: The role of France and its foreign policies in one of the most volatile regions of the world, the Persian Gulf, constitutes the subject of this study. The authors discover the interests which the Fifth Republic pursues in the Gulf, spotlight the advantageous and vulnerable aspects of French diplomacy in the said field. The study covers the dominant French perception of the Gulf as a "crossroads space", strategically crucial for the security of France and Europe a whole. The major competitors of the Fifth Republic which challenge France in order to preserve their interests are also defined. Methodologically, the study's foundation is laid by the principle of regionalism - a way of defining a region as a self-sufficient unity with its defining specific traits. This explains the fact that the article does not only study the relations between France and each single country of the Gulf, but rather its approach to the region as a whole. The foreign policy of the Fifth Republic is studied as an integrated entity, combining military and non-military leverage. The method of comparison allowed to weight the resources of France against the potential of competing players. Concluding their analysis, the authors would define France as a "transitory" player in the region. French diplomacy has several channels of influence in the Gulf area, but it lacks the resources to establish itself as an undisputed leader (while pushing aside other major forces, such as the USA).

Keywords: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, arms trade, defence policy, foreign policy, Persian Gulf, France, UAE, Emmanuel Macron

References:
Livre Blanc sur la Défense et la Sécurité Nationale. – 2013. – 160 p. URL: http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/var/storage/rapports-publics/134000257.pdf (data obrashcheniya 10.04.2019)
Rapport au Parlement sur les exportations d’armement de la France. – 2018. – 104 p. URL: https://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/docfra/rapport_telechargement/var/storage/rapports-publics/184000683.pdf (data obrashcheniya 10.04.2019)
Bystrov A. A. O problemakh mezhdu Frantsiey i KSA po realizatsii sovmestnogo proekta postavok vooruzheniya i voennoy tekhniki v strany Afriki // Institut Blizhnego Vostoka. 28.06.2018. URL: http://www.iimes.ru/?p=45561 (data obrashcheniya 10.04.2019)
Shcheglovin Yu. B. Ob otnosheniyakh Frantsii s OAE // Institut Blizhnego Vostoka. 10.10.2018. URL: http://www.iimes.ru/?p=48648 (data obrashcheniya 10.04.2019)
Zvereva T. V., Boykov S. S. Politika Frantsii v otnoshenii monarkhiy Persidskogo zaliva // Diplomaticheskaya sluzhba. 2017. № 5. S. 6-16.
Mongrenier J.-S. Politique française dans le golfe Arabo