PARIS: Just a few years ago, the Franco-Saudi relationship appeared to move forward in fits and starts, overshadowed by the privileged ties Paris maintained with other Gulf capitals. Today, the landscape is radically different.
President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Saudi Arabia in December 2024 cemented this evolution, giving a strategic dimension to a relationship that has continued to expand.
But to understand this rapprochement, one must also look to Washington, says Bertrand Besancenot, France’s ambassador to Qatar and later to Saudi Arabia from 2007 to 2016. “It is because Riyadh is now questioning the strength of its partnership with the US that space has opened up for new partners, foremost among them France.
“There was a period when the Saudis were concerned about (former US President Barack) Obama’s policy toward Iran,” Besancenot told Arab News en Francais.
The rapprochement between Washington and Tehran, which culminated in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, raised deep concerns in Riyadh. The situation subsequently reversed during US President Donald Trump’s first term.
Then Saudi Crown Prince Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud (5-R), the future King of Saudi Arabia, poses March 25, 1939 at Paris’ Le Bourget airport in front of an Air France plane. (File/AFP)
“The crown prince fully supported Trump’s policy of maximum pressure on Iran at the time,” he said.
But this closeness to Washington did not prevent a fundamental shift in Saudi diplomacy. The Kingdom, the former diplomat said, remains tied to the US through a strategic partnership that it wants to keep, but not on an exclusive basis.
Questions over the reliability of US commitments, reinforced by policy shifts from one administration to another, have pushed Washington’s allies to seek alternatives.
“Saudi Arabia, like the other Gulf countries, while wanting to preserve its strategic partnership with the US, is at the same time asking itself some questions about the reliability of President Trump’s commitments,” Besancenot said.
In his view, this uncertainty represents “a real opportunity for anyone who wants to work with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.”
Then French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier (L) shakes hands with then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz during their meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 15 February 2005. (AFP)
Saudi Arabia’s response is now clear: to diversify its international relationships.
China has significantly expanded its presence, cooperation with Russia has grown in the oil sector, while Riyadh is deepening its ties with Turkiye, Pakistan, South Africa and European countries. “They are no longer a country under American tutelage,” Besancenot said.
This new diplomacy gives France a particular card to play. “France is regarded as the most politically active European country in the Middle East,” he added. Paris also benefits from a diplomatic tradition that allows it to engage with a wide range of interlocutors and advocate a degree of strategic autonomy.
This is precisely what explains the convergence between the Kingdom and France, which share common ground on several major issues, Besancenot said, highlighting Gulf security, Iran, Lebanon and the Palestinian question.
“There is a whole range of political issues that are coordinated by the two countries,” he said, adding that France and Saudi Arabia are now particularly committed to advancing the two-state solution.
This political convergence has been accompanied by a bilateral rapprochement that is no longer limited to diplomacy. Macron’s state visit to Riyadh and AlUla in December 2024 was, in this regard, a turning point.
Today, the economic opportunities are considerable, beginning with infrastructure. “We have a great deal to offer,” Besancenot said, citing in particular transport projects linking the airport to Qiddiya, a future major leisure destination, as well as the immense needs associated with Riyadh’s hosting of the World Expo in 2030.
Representatives of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) visited Riyadh in March 2023 as part of the examination of Riyadh’s candidature to host World Expo 2030. Riyadh passed the test and is currently in the thick of preparations to host the global exposition. (SPA file photo)
But behind the major construction projects lies a much deeper transformation: that of Saudi society itself. This is perhaps where the Franco-Saudi rapprochement takes on a particularly interesting dimension.
Vision 2030 is not simply an economic program. “Everything related to soft power is absolutely at the heart of the strategy,” he said. Tourism, culture and sport are among the sectors expected to help create jobs for a young population while contributing to economic diversification.
AlUla is one of the most visible examples, but the movement now extends to festivals, video games, cinema and artistic exchanges.
Can this nevertheless be described as a genuine cultural revolution? “The revolution is underway,” Besancenot said. And the changes are, in fact, spectacular, with gender equality reforms, women’s right to drive and their growing presence in the workforce, the proliferation of festivals and the opening of cinemas.
This transformation has also changed Saudi Arabia’s image. “A few years ago, all we talked about was Yemen,” he said. “Today, when we talk about Saudi Arabia, we talk about the major projects,” its economic ambitions, political initiatives and ability to influence regional affairs.
According to Besancenot, the change in image is therefore inseparable from the change in strategy. Riyadh is no longer seeking to be recognized solely as an energy power, but wants to become an economic, political, cultural and tourism power, capable of engaging simultaneously with Washington, Beijing, Moscow, Ankara, Islamabad and European capitals.
It is within this new balance, Besancenot said, that the Franco-Saudi relationship now finds its true rationale, particularly as both countries have understood that it is in their interest to strengthen their own partnership in a more uncertain multipolar world.
