French victory in Egypt?

[Stonewall]

So, I was reading out of curiosity about Napoleon's campaign in the middle-east and I was surprised at how decisively the capture of Egypt was undergone. Had it not been for Horatio Nelson's destruction of the French fleet - perhaps an earlier death of Nelson leads to a victory of the French in the Mediterranean? - could the French establish a more permanent presence in Egypt and thus the middle east?

Forgive me for my relative lack of knowledge, I figure that starting discussions here is an ideal method of expanding one's insight.

 

[Seraphiel]

If Napoleon had stayed in Egypt and had not decided on invading the Ottoman Empire than I could see a semi-permanent French presence in Egypt, but for that to happen the British fleet has to be taken out of the equation.

 

[katchen]

The British basically caught the French fleet while it was beached for repairs. If the French had maintained a proper defensive posture, the British would have been unlikely to have been able to destroy the French fleet. In fact, Lord Nelson could conceivably have been forced to a draw or defeated.
Perhaps the French could have accomplished this defensive posture by landing in Crete and/or Derna first. They then could have established a blockade or at least pickets across the Mediterranean between the Cretan and Cyrenacan coasts as well as the straits around Rhodes and prevent both British and Ottoman interference. They could literally cross Lord Nelson's T.

 

[Anaxagoras]

Even with an intact French fleet, maintaining French control in Egypt will be extremely difficult. Events showed that the Egyptian population was ready to revolt against the French at the drop of a hat and I would expect the British and the Turks to keep sending expeditions against them until they succeed in driving them out.

 

[Malta]

From a military standpoint the failures were the destruction of the French Fleet and Failure to kill Muhammad Ali.

From an cultural perspective it was a lack of appreciation for local Islamic traditions.

From a social perspective it was messing with the Ulema and destroying villages.

From a political perspective it was his previous failure to stop Muhammad Ali and kowtow to the Ottoman Sultans.

From an economic perspective it was not having money.

All these combined were the reason.