Emmanuel Macron defends his much criticized meeting with Mohammed ben Salman

President Emmanuel Macron, at the Élysée Palace, October 20, 2021. REUTERS - POOL

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4 min

After an evening and a night in Doha for talks with the Emir of Qatar, Emmanuel Macron arrives this Saturday morning, December 4 in Saudi Arabia, the last stop of his mini-tour in the Gulf countries.

This visit will above all allow the French President to meet Crown Prince Mohammed ben Salman.

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With our special correspondent in Dubai, 

Valérie Gas

It is in Jeddah that Emmanuel Macron and Prince Mohammed ben Salman, often called MBS, will have an interview.

The French president will only spend a few hours there but this visit is important because Emmanuel Macron will be the first major Western leader to make the trip to Saudi Arabia to meet the crown prince since the

Khashoggi affair

.

The assassination of this Saudi journalist in 2018, in Istanbul, had provoked very strong criticism of the Riyadh regime suspected of having sponsored it.

Emmanuel Macron will he help MBS to get back in the saddle on the diplomatic scene?

The French president himself answered this question with a certain virulence before his departure from Dubai.

"

 Saudi Arabia organized the G20, more than a year ago,"

said the head of state.

All the G20 leaders were there. Let’s be honest with ourselves. Who can think for a single second that we are helping Lebanon, that we are preserving peace and stability in the Middle East, that we are working if we say: "We are no longer talking to Saudi Arabia", the country most populated and largest in the Gulf? So, that doesn't mean that I endorse, that doesn't mean that I forget, that doesn't mean that we are not demanding partners. People need to watch what has happened in the last 18 months instead of talking nonsense. It is just to act for our country and for the interest of the region.

 "

An approach which aims to be pragmatic but which will not convince human rights defenders. 

Posture "

shocking "

For Aymeric Elluin, Weapons Advocacy Officer at Amnesty International France, France's posture is “

 shocking

 ”. 

" 

France has always taken the side as it traditionally does to say: 'We discuss with everyone.'

But by discussing with everyone, France forgets to respect the fundamentals

 :

 the search for truth, the fight against impunity. We are very shocked. Because it is the first time since this heinous murder that a head of state will meet Prince MBS. It is a way of re-legitimizing this prince when all the light has not been shed on his responsibility in the commission of this crime. And that is what is dramatic.

 "

“ 

Once again, we see that human rights are placed at the bottom of the scale or rather are totally forgotten,

continues Aymeric Elluin at the microphone of RFI

.

And we would have expected strong gestures.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, we can talk about the death penalty, we can talk about human rights defenders and especially women.

What will be the messages that France will try to convey knowing that from 2011 to 2020, France delivered to Arabia and the Emirates for several billion euros of war material.

So, yes, today there is no more human rights diplomacy, there is no more diplomacy of protecting international military law.

We are all appalled. 

"

The biggest Rafales aircraft sales contract

France has just concluded this Friday, on the occasion of Emmanuel Macron's visit to Dubai, the largest contract for the sale of Rafales aircraft: 80 Rafale fighter jets for an amount of 16 billion euros.

It is a record order on the arms market which has something to delight French manufacturers and strengthen the strategic partnership in the region.

On the other hand, the signal on the ground of human rights is totally negative, this is what denounces Aymeric Elluin, of Amnesty International France. 

We, what we have documented in the context of the conflict in Yemen, and that is in fact the context that must be kept in mind, is that we are talking about the Emiratis who may have violated international humanitarian law by using air strikes and causing possible war crimes.

Aymeric Elluin, Weapons Advocacy Officer at Amnesty International France

Véronique Gaymard

►

To read also: The Emirates sign a historic order for 80 “Rafale” with France

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  • Emmanuel Macron

  • France

  • Mohammed bin salman

  • Saudi Arabia