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Europe

While Paris Burns, Macron Tours the Middle East This Week

2026-10-22

That’s his job, too. Not that he’ll do it any better than he would have done had he stayed home — how long must France endure until the next presidential election?

[NationalNews] President Sheikh Mohamed holds talks with Macron on energy and AI: French President on tour of the Gulf to strengthen energy and defence ties

President Sheikh Mohamed received France's President Emmanuel Macron in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

An official reception ceremony was held for Mr Macron, who is in the UAE on an official visit as part of his tour of the Gulf.

Mr Macron is seeking to deepen energy and defence ties with Gulf states during a three-day visit that started on Monday with Kuwait and the UAE, as his government struggles with a cost-of-living crisis fuelled by high energy prices.

That’s not really what the current riots are about, no matter what the rioters say, but do go on.

Talks in Abu Dhabi focused on energy, artificial intelligence and the energy crisis caused by the Iran war. As the conflict unfolds, France and other European nations have sought to portray themselves as key allies of Gulf states, including the UAE, despite being able to do little to contain a war to which they are not party.

“Key topics included developments in the Middle East and efforts to contain their repercussions on maritime security and global energy supplies,” state news agency Wam reported.

Earlier, Mr Macron had a one-on-one meeting with the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal, for an hour and a half on Monday. He flew to Kuwait City only hours after a giving solemn televised address to the French nation in which he promised his Gulf tour would help secure energy supplies.

It’s that or America to replace Russia, I guess. Each choice has consequences.

In the UAE, the reception was attended by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, adviser to the UAE President.

DEFENCE AND AI
This is likely to be one of Mr Macron’s last major Gulf trips before the presidential election in France in six months, at which he is ineligible to run again. The President's joint offer with the UK in April to launch an international maritime coalition to defend ships in the Strait of Hormuz awaits a political agreement between the US and Iran.
How much can France really contribute? Victor Davis Hanson points out that the British navy has precisely one useable ship, and that one barely made it to Cyprus when that was being attacked.
There were no statements in Kuwait City but a series of agreements focused on defence and AI. The executive vice-president for Airbus sales, Benoit de Saint Exupery, and the executive director of the Kuwait Investment Authority, Sheikh Saud Salem Abdulaziz Al Sabah, signed a partnership that includes the renewal of the Kuwait Airways fleet.

The chief executives of industry giants TotalEnergies and Engie will be travelling with Mr Macron, as well as the president of Campus AI, a major technological complex under construction near Paris that benefits from billions in UAE funding. Also present were French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Economy and Finance Minister Roland Lescure.

The visit, which will end in Qatar on Wednesday after a stop in Bahrain, comes despite France's worst civil unrest in years, with more than 2,000 people arrested for torching and ransacking property.

In a statement on Sunday night, Mr Macron said he felt “anger” and “shame”. He has vowed that those responsible for looting and destruction will “have to pay”. The government is expected to put forward concrete proposals for young people this week.

The UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have all had energy sites attacked during the US-Iran war, which has also curtailed oil exports through the strait. With Yemen's Houthi rebels now pushing for control of a second strait, the Bab Al Mandeb strait, there are fears the global energy crunch could worsen.

“In light of the crisis gripping the Middle East, the President will continue his efforts with regional leaders to promote a return to stability and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” an Elysee Palace source said.

“Discussions will also focus on securing and diversifying our energy supplies and their transport routes, with the aim of limiting the impact of the energy crisis on the daily lives of French people.”

Mr Macron has made several trips to the UAE as French President. Last December he met Sheikh Mohamed at the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi and spoke to French troops based in the country.

Earlier visits included his attendance at the Cop28 climate summit, which took place in Dubai in 2023, and a trip in 2017 to the opening ceremony of Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mr Macron's most recent Middle East trip was a visit to Damascus in July – the first appearance in post-civil-war Syria by a major western leader.

For Mr Macron, diplomacy abroad offers an opportunity to project leadership on the international stage. But with unrest escalating at home, keeping the focus on France’s role in the world is becoming more difficult. The question is whether those diplomatic efforts will cut through the growing anger at home.

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