France, Egypt in arms deal
FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron says he will not condition the sale of weapons to Egypt on human rights because he does not want to weaken Cairo’s ability to counter terrorism in the region, a comment likely to draw the ire of critics.
Both states – which share concerns about instability across the Sahel, threats from jihadists in Egypt and the political vacuum in Libya – have cultivated closer economic and military ties during President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s rise to power.
But 17 French and international human rights groups issued a statement ahead of a visit by Sisi to France, accusing Macron of turning a blind eye to what they say are increasing violations of freedoms by Sisi’s government.
“I will not condition matters of defence and economic co-operation on these disagreements (over human rights),” Macron said during a joint press conference with Sisi after the two leaders had held talks in the Élysée Palace. “It is more effective to have a policy of demanding dialogue than a boycott, which would only reduce the effectiveness of one our partnerships in the fight against terrorism,” he added.
French officials have dismissed criticism, saying the government had a policy of avoiding public declarations about other countries’ rights records.
Instead, they said, France raised these concerns in private.
Drums rolled and trumpets blared as the French Republican Guard cavalry earlier escorted Sisi through the centre of the capital and across the Seine over the Pont des Invalides to meet a masked Macron at the Élysée Palace.
Nevertheless, even within French officialdom there are doubts about the close embrace of Sisi, who has presided while thousands of opponents have been jailed.
“I don’t know what we gain from this visit. It’s business as usual,” said one French diplomat, deploring Macron’s position.
Between 2013 and 2017, France was the main weapons supplier to Egypt. Those contracts have dried up, including deals for more Rafale fighter jets and warships that had been at an advanced stage. Diplomats say that is as much to do with financing issues as with France’s response to human rights concerns. Sisi dismissed the accusations of human rights abuses.
“It is not appropriate for you to present the Egyptian state and everything it does for its people and for the stability of the region, as an oppressive regime,” Sisi said.
“We do not have anything to be afraid of or embarrassed about.
“We are a nation striving to build a future for its people in extremely harsh conditions in a region of great turmoil,” the Egyptian president added. Macron said the release of members of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) was an opening and that he gave Sisi a list of individuals who should be released.
“Macron is effectively giving a blank cheque to the ruthless repression carried out by Sisi against civil society.
“He is turning his back on his own commitments,” said Benedicte Jeannerod, France director at Human Rights Watch.
Last month, Macron’s government criticised Egypt for the arrest of the members of the EIPR. They were apprehended after they briefed senior French diplomats in Cairo.
Macron was met with a firm rebuke. “The president … will obviously continue to express his positions on this subject,” a French presidential official said. Paris, he added, saw a “positive signal” after the release of the EIPR officials hours before Sisi came to France. “It is a partnership in favour of the stability of the region.”
The partnership also came under strain in November after anger erupted in Egypt over Macron’s defence of caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad, considered blasphemous by Muslims.
“This tarnishes the image of France in the eyes of democracy in Egypt and the region, especially when Macron stands up against violence and extremism in France and then gives long statements about values,” said Amr Magdi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, one of the 17 groups that signed the joint statement.
“But when he is tested in Egypt and the region, he sides with the oppressors and not the values he says he is defending.”