Visit Begins with Esports Event

The visit starts Sunday evening as Macron hosts MBS at the Esports World Cup’s final in Paris — the first time the event, which includes video games and chess, has been held outside Saudi Arabia.

Agenda Includes Energy, Regional Security

Macron’s office said the two leaders will hold bilateral meetings and a business forum on Monday, focusing on “the main topics of regional importance, within a framework of close collaboration between France and her partners in the Gulf.”

Officials expect discussions on energy routes that could bypass the Strait of Hormuz, including new pipelines, capacity upgrades, and alternative port networks, Talks on the Iran conflict, the Gaza-Israel situation, and developments in Lebanon and Syria are also on the agenda.

Several agreements on health, transport, and energy are due to be signed on Monday. Macron’s adviser noted that finding a resolution to the US-Israel war on Iran, now in its sixth month, remains out of reach, adding, “It’s difficult to see a way out.”

Third Visit, Strategic Partnership

This is MBS’s third visit to Paris, following trips in 2022 and 2023, while the visit builds on the Saudi-French Strategic Partnership Council launched during Macron’s state visit to Riyadh in December 2024.

MBS’s trip to Paris is his first outside the kingdom since Saudi Arabia signed a trilateral defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan on August 7; the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, as it is known, was signed by MBS, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The agreement commits all three countries to treat an armed attack on any one of them as an attack on all three.

Analysts say the pact reflects Riyadh’s push to diversify its security partnerships beyond Washington, and the deal builds on a bilateral Saudi-Pakistan mutual defence agreement signed in 2025.

Gulf states are weighing how to reduce their reliance on US security guarantees amid the prolonged fallout from the Iran war. France has been a long-standing weapons and defence supplier to Gulf states, and Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a growing investor in the French economy.

Macron and MBS last met in April in Islamabad during talks between Tehran and Washington aimed at ending the Iran war, At that time, they agreed to stay in “close contact” on de-escalation efforts.

Saudi Arabia is also set to host Expo 2030 and the 2034 football World Cup, both likely to feature in Monday’s discussions.