Jean-Rémi Baudot and Isabelle Ory 7:47 p.m., August 28, 2021, modified at 7:48 p.m., August 28, 2021
Emmanuel Macron is traveling to Iraq for 48 hours to attend a summit with the leaders of the Middle East.
On the sidelines of this meeting, he unveiled France's two avenues for continuing the evacuations of Afghans in danger since the return of the Taliban to this country.
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While the French airlift has been interrupted, Emmanuel Macron confirms Saturday evening that he is looking for solutions to continue the evacuations in Afghanistan.
The head of state spoke from Baghdad in Iraq, on the sidelines of a summit with the leaders of the Middle East where the Afghan crisis was at the heart of the discussions.
Two areas of reflection to continue the evacuations
Once France has suspended its evacuation missions from Kabul, other means must be found to put the Afghans in danger to safety.
Two areas are currently being studied by the French authorities: discussions directly with the Taliban and those with Qatar.
"There are discussions that have started with the Taliban on the subject of humanitarian operations," said the head of state during a press conference.
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But Emmanuel Macron also had an aside with the Qatari Emir on Saturday on the sidelines of the Baghdad conference.
"Qatar, in the context of the discussions they are having with the Taliban, may have the possibility of arranging airlift operations. In any case, of reopening certain airlines," he continued. .
The President of the Republic should be cautious: further evacuations will only take place under the conditions of the Taliban.
They now have the hand, the West must adapt.
But Emmanuel Macron wished to recall that France began its evacuations for months.
"I am delighted to have been lucid and not pessimistic," said the head of state.
"The Europeans have been efficient and very united"
Since August 17, 2,834 people have been exfiltrated by France from Afghanistan, 90% of them Afghans.
Elsewhere in Europe, rotations have already ended.
Belgium was the first to announce the end of its "red kite" operation on Wednesday.
Since then, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and France have also concluded the evacuations.
In total, tens of thousands of Europeans and Afghans have been able to leave the country.
Several hundred people will now be spread across Europe.
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France has also been greeted by several European countries. French special forces transported families to Kabul airport, an extremely delicate operation. "The Europeans have been effective and very united in difficult conditions," said a diplomat. Now there is the question of all those who could not leave.