France sees the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Paris as a major opportunity to deepen cooperation and partnership with Riyadh across various fields. The Élysée Palace is set to host an important meeting between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron, which will be filled with numerous files to discuss. This visit is the second stop on the Crown Prince's European tour and comes at the backdrop of an international context dominated by the Russian war in Ukraine, its implications for the energy sector, the food crisis, and existing tensions between Moscow and Western capitals due to diverse and severe sanctions imposed on Russia and efforts to impose international isolation on it.
However, regional issues such as the Yemeni war and the fate of the ceasefire, the Iranian nuclear file and its relations with Tehran, stability and security in the Gulf region, combating terrorism, Saudi-French efforts to extricate Lebanon from its multiple crises and the upcoming presidential election, striving to avoid institutional vacuum and electing a new president following the term of President Michel Aoun, and the Palestinian-Israeli issue will all be topics of discussion between the two sides. Additionally, the bilateral relations file, where the two countries share a "strategic partnership" encompassing all fields, will also be present amid a mutual desire to expand it into broader areas.
There is a consensus that Saudi-French relations are impeccable, and that the two countries' policies align on most issues under discussion. Even if there are "differentials" in approaches regarding the Iranian nuclear file or others, both parties strive for close positions and prioritize dialogue. French sources state that Paris has always supported Gulf initiatives in Yemen, praises the ceasefire, and continuously condemns Houthi violations against Saudi Arabia and Iranian interference, always working for security and stability in the Gulf region. The Yemeni and Lebanese files are examples of the agreement in positions between Paris and Riyadh. The mentioned sources emphasize the importance of the personal relationship between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Macron, which has developed and solidified with each meeting, the latest of which was the meeting in Jeddah at the end of last year.
Bertrand Bésancenot, former French ambassador in Riyadh, said in an interview that the Crown Prince's visit is "an additional indicator of the growing relations between the two countries on all political and economic levels," emphasizing that "it is natural for friendly countries to unite their efforts after the Covid-19 pandemic and its repercussions in order to kickstart the global economy." He noted that both Saudi Arabia and France, as members of the G20, will unify their efforts at the upcoming summit and work together to implement "Vision 2030" for Saudi Arabia.
The former ambassador sees the Crown Prince's visit as an opportunity to enhance consultation and expand joint initiatives, noting that it will undoubtedly strengthen the strategic partnership that has been established between the two countries for many years. In summary, Bésancenot believes that the Crown Prince's visit to Paris will contribute to pushing towards "closer relations that will play a role, in my view, in de-escalation, and that will be for the good of the world.”
On another note, Bésancenot sees Saudi Arabia, which has "regained its financial capabilities," seeking to collaborate with interested parties to implement the major projects it has launched. Thus, France, having a long-standing friendship with Saudi Arabia, is capable of keeping pace with Saudi projects and is ready to deploy its abilities, knowledge, and expertise in areas such as energy, transportation, telecommunications, environment, health, security, training, and culture.
He believes that this moment is "appropriate to enhance mutual investments" between the two sides, citing the recent presence of Yasser Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund, at the "Choose France" forum in Versailles to attract global investments, indicating that both countries are eager to develop these activities.
In a nutshell, the former French ambassador believes that diversifying partnerships in a time dominated by uncertainty undoubtedly contributes to maintaining strategic independence and that "it is natural for the two countries to seek closer relations, especially since they have been friends for decades."
### Paris Seeks Role in the Middle East
The anticipated meeting, from the French side, represents the culmination of a series of summits hosted by the Élysée Palace since the beginning of last week, including leaders from the UAE, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, Macron, returning today from his African tour, conducted a series of phone calls, one of which was with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, to urge him to accept the offer presented to Tehran regarding the nuclear file. While observers of Saudi-French relations view Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s European tour following his previous visits in the Arab world and Turkey, as well as the recent bilateral summits in Jeddah ("Saudi-American" and "Gulf-Arab-American"), as indicators of vibrant Saudi diplomacy, they simultaneously perceive President Macron's desire to position his country on the diplomatic map of the Middle East through his escalating activity.
French sources have indicated that Macron is seeking to replicate the experience of the Baghdad Conference held last August, which brought together regional stakeholders, including the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran. According to the French vision, a conference or summit of this kind could reduce tensions and provide a platform for dialogue among all parties. What the French capital fears is that failure to revive the Iranian nuclear agreement, which has been under negotiation in Vienna for 17 months due to complex US-Iranian issues, may cause further escalation in the region. Therefore, Macron has proposed the idea to regional leaders, and French sources indicate that he has received "encouraging responses" so far. However, they do not currently mention a specific date for such a conference.
In summary, Paris sees an available opportunity to become a key player in the Middle East, relying on its good relations with many of its countries and the US's preoccupation with the Russian-Ukrainian issue, alongside the "modest" results President Joe Biden obtained from his Middle Eastern tour. Hence, Paris, which bets on its position within the European Union and its dynamic diplomacy, believes that partnership with Saudi Arabia, which has the largest economy in the region and significant political, religious, and intellectual weight, is a winning card for both the French and Saudi sides, as well as for Paris, where its influential capacity is increasing in other files, such as in the Lebanese file, for example.
According to this reading, the importance of the Paris stop for the Crown Prince is highlighted, revealing France's high and ambitious expectations from it.
### French Demands for Deepening Cultural Cooperation with Saudi Arabia
It is no secret that Saudi Arabia places great importance on the cultural sector within the framework of the dynamic cooperation ongoing with the French side. In an interview, Jacques Lang, former Minister of Culture and current head of the Arab World Institute, stated that cultural cooperation with Riyadh is "ongoing and developing," and there is a "strong desire" from both sides for it to advance further. Lang, who has visited Saudi Arabia multiple times, considers the existing cooperation between the two sides to be "ideal."
On the occasion of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit, Lang sent a letter to President Macron urging him to deepen cooperation with Riyadh in cultural, scientific, cinematic, artistic, and museum fields, noting the "cultural revolution underway in Saudi Arabia under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in intellectual, cultural, and artistic domains that encompass the entire Saudi society." Lang also praised the cinematic renaissance in Saudi Arabia as showcased at its first festival in Jeddah, along with theatrical and musical creations. Additionally, he praised the Crown Prince's ambition to transform Riyadh into "a major cultural capital and to lead in education and scientific research."
There are high expectations from France regarding the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Paris does not hide its interest in securing sufficient alternative sources of oil and gas as prices rise in Europe at an unprecedented rate. However, Riyadh has expressed its clear stance on the Western demand to increase its oil production, emphasizing its commitment to what is decided by the OPEC Plus group, which also includes Russia.
The day before yesterday, a diplomatic source at the French embassy in Riyadh revealed to the German news agency (dpa) some of what France anticipates from the visit and the formation of the "Saudi-French Strategic Partnership Council," alongside the Saudi-French Business Council. The source noted that both sides will examine areas of cooperation in energy, as well as cooperation in manufacturing ships and corvettes in Saudi Arabia, in light of the memorandum of understanding between the state-owned Saudi Military Industries Company and the French Naval Group signed between the two sides in February 2019. During Macron’s visit to Saudi Arabia, a series of defense sector cooperation projects were announced, which will also be evaluated in today's meeting, including the establishment of a joint project for manufacturing aircraft fuselages in Saudi Arabia. It is worth mentioning that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Paris as Crown Prince in 2018 resulted in the signing of 19 agreements and protocols worth $18 billion, covering industrial sectors like petrochemicals and water treatment, in addition to tourism, culture, health, and agriculture.
