On a state visit to Saudi Arabia, Emmanuel Macron assured that Paris and Riyadh had a common desire to “move forward” on the sale of Rafale fighter jets to the Saudi monarchy.
Emmanuel Macron insisted on Tuesday in Riyadh that France was a “reliable partner”, despite its current political tremors, and announced a common desire to “move forward” on the sale of Rafale fighters to the powerful Gulf monarchy. “We have always been a reliable partner towards each other (…) and we want to consolidate these investments and partnerships,” he said, without referring to the political crisis underway in Paris, during from a business forum on the second day of his state visit to Saudi Arabia.
French companies are ready to support the Vision 2030 program of opening and diversification of the Saudi kingdom, particularly in renewable energies and artificial intelligence, he insisted.
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Several contracts have been signed in this regard, notably by EDF Renewables for the construction of solar power plants and by Veolia and Suez for the management and treatment of waste. Saudi oil giant Aramco has also signed memorandums of understanding with start-ups Pasqal on quantum research and Mistral IA in artificial intelligence. The two countries also have the “desire to move forward on the Rafale, which is a major change in the bilateral relationship”, assured Emmanuel Macron to French journalists.
Egypt, India, Qatar…
So far, Riyadh has mainly purchased American planes, notably F15 fighters, and Eurofighters manufactured by a European consortium led by Airbus. Nearly a dozen countries already have Rafales or have concluded commercial agreements to acquire them: Egypt, Qatar, India, Greece, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Croatia and Serbia.
Emmanuel Macron also announced bilateral progress on “everything naval, air defense, satellites”, adding that contracts had been signed, without further details. “There is a desire, in a complex world sometimes with unpredictability, to have diversified partners,” he underlined, referring to the close ties of Saudi Arabia and the United States and its recurring calls for more strategic autonomy in Europe.
The French president also invited Saudi investors to “do more in France”, judging that the margin was large in this area. “France is not only a market of 68 million inhabitants (…) it is an entry point for the European market and for (that of) the French-speaking world,” he underlined.
Arriving Monday evening in Riyadh, Emmanuel Macron signed with the crown prince and de facto leader of the country Mohammed bin Salman a strategic partnership intended to strengthen cooperation in all directions, from defense to the economy of the future. The two leaders also agreed “to make every effort to contribute to de-escalation” in the Middle East, according to the Elysée.
Cultural cooperation
They will thus co-chair a conference on the creation of a Palestinian state in June 2025 and “bring together” their diplomatic initiatives until then to “take everyone on this path”, specified the head of state. Asked about recognition of a Palestinian state by France, Emmanuel Macron reiterated his “desire to do so” but “at the appropriate time” in order to bring other countries, European and non-European, into his wake.
After the success of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, he offered France's expertise for the major events that will be hosted in Arabia, including the Universal Exhibition in 2030 and the 2034 World Cup, and which aim to modernize the image of the country. France is also a privileged partner in the development of the archaeological heritage of Al-Ula, near Medina (north-west), which the kingdom intends to make a flagship tourist site in the Middle East and where the president will end his visit Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia has committed to contributing 50 million euros to the renovation of the Center Pompidou in Paris, in exchange for cultural cooperation agreements, AFP learned from the French Ministry of Culture.
MBS, once a pariah after the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Türkiye in 2018, has since returned to the center of the game on the international scene. Human rights nevertheless remain a black point for the young leader, between repression of dissidents and executions. Four new people were executed on Tuesday, bringing the number of executions to 303 since the start of the year, an all-time high.
