The wish ofEmmanuel Macron to mobilize French forces in Saudi Arabia arouses distrust among the political class. The day after the Head of State’s announcement to send “military means” For ” protect “ the very strategic energy site of Yanbu, the RN deputy Sébastien Chenu ruled this Friday that this decision was not “not the right way”.
“Today, we consider that this is not the right idea, not the right path. No, we must not send soldiers to this area of the planet”he declared on BFM TV. “Obviously, we must find ways to get out of these conflicts with our diplomacy,” but, he recalled, “we do not have a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia.” “They (Saudi Arabia) already have defense agreements with the Türkiye and Pakistan. Why don’t they turn to their natural partners? »he asked.
Cooperation agreements but no defense
France and Saudi Arabia are in fact linked by military assistance and cooperation agreements, such as in the context of training of soldiers and executives, but by no mutual defense agreement, which implies an automatic assistance clause in the event of aggression by one of the partners, as provided for for example by the NATO charter.
This Thursday evening, Emmanuel Macron announced the sending of “military means” to protect the Saudi port of Yanbu, making it possible to export crude oil from the Gulf without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, blocked by Iran. “This is the discussion we finalized with the Saudis. We are going to send military assets, that is to say soldiers, radars, defense systems to protect this site, not engage in any conflict but protect this site. he declared on TF1.
At the opposite end of the political spectrum, Jean-Luc Mélenchon hammered home his fierce opposition to any projection of French forces. “Troops in Saudi Arabia are setting up in a theater of war. If the base is hit, what will we do? No question of becoming belligerent,” denounced the LFI presidential candidate on his X account. He also invoked article 35 of the Constitution, which subjects any declaration of war or military intervention abroad to a vote by Parliament.
From a constitutional point of view, the intervention of armed forces abroad, however, only requires information from the Head of State, addressed to the National Assembly and the Senate. Beyond four months of mission, the intervention must however receive the blessing of both chambers.
