Macron under pressure from human rights groups over Egypt trip
French president Emmanuel Macron will travel to Egypt on Sunday for a three-day visit that raises a thorny foreign policy question.
Can a leader who professes to represent progressive forces in Europe compromise himself and his country by maintaining close relations with a dictator who represses his own people?
Fifteen months ago, Macron gave Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi a red carpet welcome at the Élysée Palace.
“I believe in the sovereignty of states. So in the same way that I do not accept other leaders giving me lessons on how to govern my country, I don’t lecture others,” Macron said when asked about massive human rights abuses in Egypt.
Macron’s statement created outrage among human rights defenders. The question has grown more acute in the intervening period.
And although France is not prepared to profoundly alter its friendship with the country of 100 million, there are signs of an inflection in Macron’s rhetoric, if not his policy.
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR READERS