Claim: Napoleon led troops into Ottoman Syria and Egypt with the goal of protecting French trade interests.
Evidence: In 1798 , he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power.
The French Campaign in Egypt and Syria -LRB- 1798 -- 1801 -RRB- was Napoleon Bonaparte 's campaign in Ottoman Egypt and Ottoman Syria , proclaimed to defend French trade interests , weaken Britain 's access to British India , and to establish scientific enterprise in the region.