The French head of state has been sharply criticized by the opposition for visiting Qatar twice during the World Cup. Emmanuel Macron, for his part, says “totally assume”.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday congratulated Qatar on hosting the World Cup and his “friend”, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, on organizing November’s COP27, at the risk of a fresh barrage of criticism.
“We are finishing a World Cup, which is the first in the Arab world and was held in Qatar, and I congratulate them,” he said at a regional conference in support of Iraq on Jordan’s Dead Sea coast in Sweimeh.
“I congratulate my friend President Sissi”
“A few weeks ago a COP organized by Egypt was concluded and I congratulate my friend President Sissi because Sharm el-Sheikh managed to bring the world together and settle some of the absolutely crucial issue of casualties and damage,” he added.
COP27 ended with the adoption of a highly controversial text on helping poor countries affected by climate change, but also on the failure to set new ambitions for reducing greenhouse gases.
“And the next COP will be in the United Arab Emirates, showing how the region is becoming a diplomatic epicenter,” Emmanuel Macron said.
“I fully assume”
The French leader has been heavily criticized by the opposition for having twice traveled to Qatar to support the French team, despite the many controversies surrounding human rights in the country and the country’s environmental impact, and for his compliments on the organization of the event Cup in air-conditioned stadiums.
Qatar is also the focus of an investigation into the loud suspicion of corruption in the European Parliament.
“I totally accept it,” the French president began between the semi-finals and the final of the cup that the Blues eventually lost to Argentina.
Despite the repression in that country, Emmanuel Macron is also regularly criticized by human rights defenders for his links to the Egyptian president. Notably, he presented him with France’s highest decoration, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, during a state visit by Abdel Fattah al-Sissi to Paris in December 2020.