France, Saudi Arabia agree on need to curb Iranian 'expansionism'

President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that France agreed with Saudi Arabia on the need to curb Iranian "expansionism" in the Middle East, while also announcing a conference to boost humanitarian support for Yemen, where Riyadh is waging a bombing campaign.

Speaking alongside Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a press conference as the de facto Saudi leader wrapped up a three-day official visit, Macron called for "greater efforts to limit Iran's ballistic activity and regional expansionism."

"This strategic vision means reducing all the projects of expansionist political Islam which could feed other forms of terrorism and destabilise the region," Macron said of Riyadh's regional rival.

On Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has led an international military coalition since 2015 and waged a blockade that has sparked widespread condemnation, Macron stressed the need for "respect for international humanitarian law".

"We will continue to be extremely vigilant on this point," he said. "It is obvious that we will not tolerate any ballistic activity that threatens Saudi Arabia."

The flurry of announcements by the French president came as campaigners mobilised to keep attention focused on French weapons exports to Saudi Arabia and rights abuses in the country.

The kingdom is the lead partner in a coalition of countries bombing and blockading Yemen, where a combination of fighting, disease and food shortages has led the UN to dub it the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Three out of four French people believe it is "unacceptable" for France, one of the world's biggest arms exporters, to continue selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, according to a YouGov poll.

TRT World spoke to Aziz al Ghashian from  Essex University on the purpose of Prince Salman's visit.

Salman meets Hariri

On Monday evening, as part of his three-day trip to France, the Saudi heir held a surprise meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri, as well Moroccan King Mohammed VI, which was revealed in a tweet by Hariri showing the three leaders smiling and dressed casually. "No comment," read the caption.

It appeared designed to send a message of reconciliation after Hariri was allegedly pressured to resign by the Saudi royal during a trip to Riyadh last November, causing a crisis which Macron helped defuse.

"This period of ambiguity and confusion is now behind us thanks to the efforts from all sides and the personal implication of President Macron," Moueen Merhebi, an MP in Hariri's party, told AFP in Beirut on Tuesday.

Macron's role in helping mediate in the Lebanese leadership crisis, which led Hariri to travel to Paris and then rescind his resignation, was seen by analysts as exposing the limits of Prince Mohammed's authority.

Lucrative deals

After a trip which has seen France and Saudi sign up for major cultural exchanges as well as discussions of war in the Middle East, companies from both countries signed draft deals worth a total $18 billion.

The memoranda of understanding cover sectors including petrochemicals, water treatment, tourism, health, agricultural and cultural activities, the French-Saudi business forum said in a statement.

In earlier meetings during the Saudi heir's visit, Macron and Salman announced plans to work on a "strategic document" involving a series of contracts to be signed by Macron during a visit to Saudi Arabia later this year, his office said.

The prince's visit to France is part of a global tour that has already seen him travel to the United States, Britain and Egypt as he seeks to project a more moderate vision of Saudi Arabia.

After Paris, he will head to Madrid, before travelling home ahead of the next Arab League summit meeting, on April 15 in Riyadh.