Macron ‘puts politics before human rights’ on Saudi visit

EMMANUEL MACRON was accused of putting politics before human rights at the weekend as he became the first major Western leader to visit Saudi Arabia since the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The French president ended his Gulf tour on Saturday having made steps towards bringing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in from the diplomatic cold and securing France’s largest weapons deal with the UAE – Saudi’s main ally in the Yemen war.

Securing the deal and strengthening France’s role in the energy-rich region had been a key target of his visit after the controversy over a scrapped submarine deal with Australia in September.

Major Western leaders have avoided Saudi Arabia since the murder of Khashoggi at the consulate in Istanbul.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration released intelligence linking the crown prince to the murder, and has refused to deal with him directly since he took office.

France, alongside the UK and the US, has also faced scrutiny over its continued arms deals because of the war that Saudi is waging in Yemen.

“Macron [is] trying to rehabilitate the man who tortured my sister, killed Khashoggi, cut his body into pieces, [and] created the worst humanitarian crisis in a neighbouring country…” tweeted Lina al-hathloul, the sister of prominent Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-hathloul.

“But all good, Macron has upcoming elections and needs his deals done.”

The Saudis will be hoping that Mr Macron’s visit will boost the image of the kingdom after it was severely tarnished by the murder of Khashoggi.

The timing for them could not be better: Mr Macron’s visit coincided with the inaugural Grand Prix on Saudi soil yesterday.

Formula One has also come under fire for choosing to host the tournament in the kingdom, with activists claiming it buys into the regime’s tactic of “sports-washing” its rights record.

Justin Bieber was set to perform at the close of the race, despite calls for a boycott, as MBS, as the crown prince is often known, pushes his social reforms into the limelight.

“Dialogue with Saudi Arabia is a necessity,” Mr Macron said, when questioned over his decision to visit the crown prince, noting that a large part of the future of the Gulf would play out in Saudi Arabia.

The Elysée Palace later said that he was in no way trying to get the crown prince “back in the saddle”.

During the trip France also extended the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s licence agreement, worth €165million (£141million) for France, enabling the Middle East museum which opened in 2017 to continue operating until at least 2047.

In exchange, the Paris museum will lend four as yet unidentified masterworks to the Abu Dhabi branch.