For this secretly planned meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Mohammed Ben Salmane this Thursday night, he misses. The Elysee had no intention of communicating about the Saudi leader’s visit, according to information from BFMTV. The presidency finally made it official after several articles in the press. It must be said that this visitor carries with him a sulphurous reputation.
Since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, the nicknamed “MBS” has not set foot on the European continent. This journalist investigating in Jeddah was kidnapped from the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey, before being tortured, killed and finally dismembered by a Saudi special forces commando, according to a CIA investigation.
The international situation pushes for reconciliation
But could the president, just back from a tour of West Africa, really afford not to see him when the prince is returning to the international stage? Called a “pariah” by Joe Biden in 2020, the American obviously changed his mind when he met him in early July.
It must be said that the geopolitical arrangement has changed since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and concerns about global energy supply. The Europeans and the United States thus multiply gestures towards Saudi Arabia to increase its production of barrels of oil and face the closure of the Russian tap. With one goal: to push the Kingdom to produce one million more barrels.
For now, “MBS” seems to be turning a deaf ear. It must be said that his country, which co-directs OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) with Moscow, does not intend to be angry with Vladimir Putin. But for Emmanuel Macron, there is urgency as the price of oil continues to rise and the tariff measures announced by the executive are limited to the coming months.
Oil-Centric Discussions
It is also Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of Economy, who welcomed the Saudi dignitary this Wednesday night.
“The main topic of discussion between them was, of course, oil,” assumes the entourage of the Bercy tenant after BFMTV.
The same story from the side of Olivier Véran, the government spokesman, who judged this Wednesday during his point “to trust France”, “to pass his messages perfectly”, “while working on access to oil which is also a goal”.
It is that another fear is added to the new rise in prices: the total cut off of Russian gas, which predicts difficult days in terms of energy supply. The president also warned people during his July 14 interview, announcing “a likely scenario” and “a very harsh one.”
“A rehabilitation of a murderer” denounces Amnesty International
Torn between economic and political imperatives, Emmanuel Macron made the decision to welcome MBS in mid-summer, hoping that human rights associations might be less attentive. Proof that the Elysee is careful not to exaggerate: it is a work dinner and not a state dinner to which the Saudi will attend.
However, the calculation appears to have failed.
“There really is an international level rehabilitation of MBS. And this individual is a murderer”, Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, denounced this Thursday in France inter.
The president had already caused controversy by going to Jeddah last December and thus being one of the first Western leaders to take a step towards the Saudis in several years. Several NGOs have announced that they are filing a complaint for complicity in torture and forced disappearance against the Saudi prince.
Source: BFM TV
