French President Emmanuel Macron begins his first state visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday, December 2, a long-awaited 48-hour visit to Paris. In a context marked by regional crises, from Gaza to Lebanon, to Syria today, Mr. Macron seeks to consolidate his relationship with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed Ben Salman, known as “MBS”, a key player in the quest. of regional stability. Accompanied by a delegation of business leaders, the French president hopes to win contracts for France, despite the resizing of megaprojects at the heart of Vision 2030, the kingdom's modernization and economic diversification strategy.
At the end of 2022, Emmanuel Macron offered a stepping stone to the young Saudi leader by inviting him to Paris, while he was still considered a pariah within the international community after the assassination in 2018 of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The 39-year-old sovereign, whom the declining health of his father, King Salman, put de facto in power, is today courted on the international scene and is taking advantage of this to diversify his partnerships. Weakened by a political and budgetary crisis, Emmanuel Macron needs to strengthen his stature internationally.
With the return of Donald Trump to the White House on January 20, 2025, the American relationship should once again become a priority for the Saudi crown prince. During Mr. Trump's first term, “MBS” established a special relationship with him and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. “It will be very difficult for President Macron to open a breach in this exclusive relationship”estimates Hasni Abidi, director of the Center for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World in Geneva. This relationship offers the Saudi leader privileged access to Washington, while the détente initiated with Tehran in 2023, and reinforced thanks to the war in Gaza, opens up a channel of mediation with the Islamic Republic.
Normalization aimed with Israel
The Saudi crown prince may need to gain external support to influence American policy on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel remains a priority of the president-elect, who would like to complete the Abraham Accords, his main diplomatic success, signed in 2020 between Israel on the one hand, the Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan on the other hand.
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