Hashim al-Atassi
In defeat, the French government agreed to recognize the National Bloc leaders as the sole representatives of the Syrian people and invited Hashim al-Atassi for diplomatic talks in Paris. On 22 March 1936, he headed a senior Bloc delegation to France, and, over 6 months, managed to formulate a Franco-Syrian treaty of independence. Atassi's treaty guaranteed emancipation over 25 years, with full incorporation of previously autonomous territories into Greater Syria.