Emmanuel Macron and Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, December 7, 2020 in Paris.
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NICOLAS MESSYASZ / SIPA
Emmanuel Macron received Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi on Monday.
Highly anticipated in the field of human rights, faced with the strong repression exercised on the opposition in Egypt, the French president assures that he is "the constant advocate of democratic openness".
He also claims to have mentioned the fate of several imprisoned human rights activists.
"I had the opportunity to evoke, as we do with friends in confidence and in all frankness, the question of human rights", and "I remain the constant advocate of a democratic, social and recognition of a dynamic and active civil society ”, underlined the French President during a joint press conference with President al-Sisi, denounced by the NGOs for human rights violations.
Ramy Shaath, in detention for over a year
On this point, "I welcome the release announced Thursday of three NGO members" detained by Cairo, he added.
The president indicates to have also evoked "several other individual cases", of which that of Ramy Shaath, defender of Egyptian-Palestinian rights, married to a Frenchwoman and of which several NGOs denounce the arbitrary detention for more than a year.
However, "I will not condition our cooperation in matters of defense, as in economic matters, on these disagreements", specified the French Head of State, by asserting "the sovereignty of the peoples" and by considering "more effective d 'have a demanding dialogue policy rather than a boycott policy which would reduce the effectiveness of one of our partners in the fight against terrorism and for regional stability ”.
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