After Greece, Mohammed ben Salman continues his European tour in Paris, where he is received by President Emmanuel Macron this Thursday evening, July 28. This is the first time that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has visited the European Union since the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, when his responsibility for this crime was pointed out by intelligence. Energy issues should dominate the interview.
This is today the main asset of Mohammed ben Salman to reassert itself on the international scene : Saudi Arabia is one of the main producers of oil and its reserves are colossal.
The war in Ukraine has led to a surge in black gold prices, fueling high inflation: in the eyes of Westerners, Riyadh is one of the few players on the market that can increase its production in order to stabilize prices. Mohamed ben Salman has therefore once again become an acceptable, even essential interlocutor for Western leaders.
It is already with this request that Joe Biden had visited Jeddah, two weeks ago, renouncing the firm position vis-a-vis Mohammad ben Salman which he had adopted during his campaign. A similar request could be taken up by Emmanuel Macron when the inflation rate in France was 5.8% over one year in June.
In May, Saudi Arabia announced a plan to increase its oil production by more than 7%, but at a distant deadline, in 2026, because this project requires structural investments. And so far, the kingdom has refused to make any economic adjustment. Unlike its Western allies, Riyadh maintains relations with Moscow and invokes its commitments to other OPEC+ countries, a group to which Russia belongs.
The after Khashoggi for MBS?
The visit to Paris also has a very symbolic dimension for Mohammed ben Salman. Less than 4 years after the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, he will walk the red carpet in the courtyard of the Élysée. He will certainly not be entitled to the same honors as the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, last week who was on a state visit. But his coming on European territory mark that he has regained his ability to travel where he wants.
But this visit to France also awakens the Khashoggi affair. Two foreign NGOs, including DAWN, which was founded by the Saudi journalist just before his assassination, seized French justice. This has universal jurisdiction: it can therefore investigate and judge acts committed abroad as long as the suspect is on French soil. Turkish justice decided in April to refer the case to Saudi justice. But with this visit to France, the two NGOs hope to obtain the opening of a new procedure against Mohammed ben Salman.
Not only is France lowering itself, but it is compromising itself, that is to say that here we have a person who embodies Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia is one of the states that is the most virulent against homosexuality since it punishes homosexuality with death. It is one of the countries which is the worst with women since they have the status of minors, it is also the country where attacks and murders of journalists are sponsored, this is the case of Jamal Kashoggi. We close our eyes to everything we defend in France just to get oil. And in fact, it’s extremely serious and that’s why we need to move towards an energy transition, that’s why we need renewable energies, that’s why we need energy sobriety, because we can’t work with those people, we can’t work with those countries, we can’t put ourselves in the hands of those countries.
Sandrine Rousseau (Nupes)