The episode (3/72020) of the "Beyond the News" program discussed the investigation in which Amnesty International revealed Paris' support for weapons and training in its war on Yemen, in isolation from the French parliament, amid a debate about the Elysee policy regarding the crises of the Arab region. Including Libya, in which France supports the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar against the internationally recognized Accord government.
Bertolo said that France believes that the contracts of selling arms to Saudi Arabia and Egypt are the most important in this field, in addition to that Egypt intends to continue interfering in Libya, noting that the French parliament will not criticize his government on the report of Amnesty International, because the majority of Parliament belongs to the President’s party Emmanuel Macron.
He added that the economic dimension constitutes an obsession for the French parliament, which will refuse to lose its jobs if citizens stop the export of arms, as an important tributary of the French economy, but he pointed out that Paris may place restrictions on the use of weapons it exports in the future to ensure that there are no civilian casualties.
For his part, Salah al-Qadri, a researcher in Arab and Islamic world issues said that it is important to know that France stands in the ranks of counter-revolutions against the Arab Spring revolutions, and what the Amnesty International report revealed does not depart from the fact that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE account for two-thirds of French exports of arms.
He added that France's argument for the economic crisis due to the Corona pandemic is inaccurate, since the increase in French arms exports has been since the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron to power, and the Corona pandemic and the economic crisis associated with it have nothing to do with it.
In turn, Mohamed Al-Mokhtar Al-Shanqeeti, a professor of political ethics at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, said that the report provided a clear condemnation of the French government, which is adopting a selfish approach contrary to the rest of the European countries in Libya, as it gets nearly 20 billion euros because it sold weapons to countries that fight in Yemen and support Retired Libyan Major General Khalifa Hifter.
He added that France's foreign policy is not affected by public opinion, stressing that the only deterrent for France - especially in Libya - is the strength of the Libyan reconciliation government and its ally Turkey, noting in this regard that France does not take any consideration of Libyan or Yemeni civilians by continuing to sell arms, just as France is currently experiencing anger due to Turkish interference in Libya.