Name? Emmanuel Macron
Westphalian identity? French
Age? 43
Why is he in the news? French President Emmanuel Macron just ended his two-day sales tour through rich client countries in the Middle East. In Oprah-like fashion he promised guns to everyone, just that they have to pay billions. But amounts like these shouldn’t be a problem for customers like UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Why do we care? Macron was heavily criticised in the European Union for his arms sales to Saudi Arabia considering the Kashoggi murder and the war in Yemen. Macron responded that none of the critics boycotted the G20 held by MBS last year and that Khashoggi’s murder had nothing to do with arms sales … Maybe the prospect of 19 billion dollar deals with the UAE and similar agreements with Qatar and Saudi Arabia were just too good of a deal for Macron after the AUKUS fiasco a few months ago? I mean, who remembers Kashoggi anyways, right?
Why should you care? The total arms sales of the 100 biggest companies increased to $531 billion in 2020, so we know at least one industry is surviving the supply chain crisis. You should care because more weapons in the hands of more people improve the security situation of the world. Just ask any Yemeni. You should care 10/10.
Who else cares? Lebanese Prime Minister Nadschib Miqati. The official reason for Macron’s visit was to discuss regional stability with regional powers. Macron wanted to discuss Lebanon in particular as he vowed to personally make sure the country would get back on its feet after the August 2020 blast. Since Miqati’s information minister criticised the war in Yemen, MBS blocked imports to Lebanon, something Macron hoped to resolve.
Any further comments? The same information minister George Kordahi, backed by Hezbollah, resigned last friday. Whether this was brokered by Macron remains unknown. But maybe he could sell some weapons to Lebanon in order to solve the crisis?
