the realpolitik applied by the Presidents of the Republic

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salmane was received at the Élysée on Thursday July 29. This is a new example of the political pragmatism assumed by Emmanuel Macron. On behalf of French interests, he rolled out the red carpet on July 18 to another autocrat: Mohammed Ben Zayed, President of the United Arab Emirates. A leader criticized by human rights defenders but who turns out to be a strategic ally in the Gulf both in terms of security and economics. France sold 80 Rafale-type aircraft and 12 helicopters to the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2021 with a record contract of 16 billion euros. In the name of realpolitik, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi has been received twice in Paris since 2020.

Emmanuel Macron’s predecessors also used pragmatism in their international relations. François Hollande had received several controversial leaders such as Paul Biya, the Cameroonian president in power since 1982, or Blaise Compaoré, former leader of Burkina Faso sentenced to life for the assassination of his predecessor. However, during his campaign, the socialist candidate had then estimated that “Presiding over the Republic is not inviting dictators in grand style to Paris”. A way of tackling his adversary at the time, outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy, who in December 2007 received Libyan Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Despite criticism, the president had met with other dictators including Syrian Bashar Al-Assad four times between 2008 and 2010.