Macron secures major energy and tech deals in Gulf states

President Emmanuel Macron has landed in Bahrain to lead a diplomatic push across the Gulf region. He seeks to stabilize rising energy costs and tighten security bonds while France grapples with intense domestic unrest. The French head of state already visited Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates before heading to Qatar next. His main goal is clear: lock down oil and gas deals even as global fuel flows face heavy disruption from the US-Israel war on Iran.

On the first day, Paris and Kuwait signed eight new documents covering defence, artificial intelligence, and investment sectors. Macron then met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi. Both leaders agreed to push forward cooperation in energy, advanced tech, and AI fields immediately. The French Foreign Ministry noted that the UAE stands as France's largest importer within the Gulf right now. Bilateral trade between them reached 10.8 billion euros or roughly $12.1bn during 2025. Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows France supplied 18 percent of the UAE's arms imports last year. That places Paris behind only the United States, which provided 42 percent of those weapons.

Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King's College London, says this trip signals a bigger shift in global power dynamics. Washington remains militarily strong but finds it harder to lead politically than before. Europe and the Gulf states face nearly identical strategic problems because they rely too much on American security choices. This dependence brings real economic and political costs that both sides must now pay.

Macron returns home with urgent energy needs pressing hard against his administration. France faces violent protests driven by a government budget plan that cuts public spending by tens of millions of euros. Angry citizens march in the streets over crumbling schools and planned pay freezes for public workers. Authorities have imposed curfews in several cities as looting and arson spread across numerous locations. More than half a million people gathered on Saturday to demand better education infrastructure and relief from the cost-of-living crisis. Over 2,500 arrests occurred during weeks of unrest while demonstrations turned destructive in many spots.

A major fuel for this anger is the spike in energy prices affecting all of Europe. Much of this surge stems directly from the Iran war. Disruptions to refined oil products like petrol and diesel at the Strait of Hormuz have left up to 20 percent of French petrol stations without both fuels at various times since fighting began. Oil prices hover above $100 a barrel as Macron travels with top executives from TotalEnergies and Engie, France's two biggest energy groups. What France needs most urgently is new suppliers to replace those it can no longer count on reliably. Can Paris build its own future without relying on American protection? The answer depends on deals made in the Gulf this week.

Those deals look secure now. On Tuesday, the UAE promised France 100,000 tonnes of diesel every month. That equals roughly 746,000 barrels per month for an unspecified time, according to Bloomberg. Bahrain agreed to send the same amount monthly for a similar open-ended period. Saudi Arabia will provide 95,000 tonnes each in October and November through TotalEnergies.

France wants more than just fuel though. It aims to boost its own exports too. The goal is to sell defence equipment into the Gulf region. This move comes as France faces record national debt levels. Analysts say this debt is the highest seen since right after World War II ended.

Military ties have already tightened between Paris and Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has been fighting the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen for a while. Last month, President Macron announced troops and defence systems would go to Saudi Arabia. The mission protects Yanbu on the Red Sea port. That location is vital for moving energy around the world. Oil installations and airports in Saudi Arabia have taken fire from Houthis recently.

In late September, Macron told reporters French forces would use what he called "military means" to guard the Yanbu terminal. The East-West Pipeline carries oil from eastern fields across the peninsula to that Red Sea exit. It is the main way Saudi Arabia keeps exporting when the Strait of Hormuz stays disrupted. But Houthis in Yemen have attacked Saudi ships there too.

Macron said on TV that soldiers, radars, and defence systems would be sent. He did not list specific volumes yet. French newspaper Le Monde called it a geopolitical shift. Defence cooperation between the two nations was previously discreet and marked by extreme caution when defining itself. The paper noted this change clearly.

Last week, Pascal Confavreux from France's Foreign Ministry said operational elements to defend Saudi oil facilities were already active. He did not specify which military means had been sent though. On Monday, Jean-Noel Barrot met Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Riyadh. They reviewed bilateral relations and discussed regional developments together. Barrot reaffirmed French solidarity with Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks during their meeting.

Krieg noted France can offer Gulf states something increasingly valuable today: military capabilities not entirely dependent on the US. He explained Paris could provide defence industrial cooperation, technology transfers, joint production, training, and greater operational autonomy. For countries like the UAE and Qatar this means reducing dependence on American weapons systems over time. They would gain more independence regarding spare parts, intelligence, and political permissions as well.

However, Krieg warned of a central strategic dilemma for France right now. He asked whether increasing involvement in the region could draw Paris into an ongoing conflict directly. Consider protecting Saudi energy infrastructure against Houthi attacks, he said. French air defence systems intercepting missiles would directly undermine the Houthis' military strategy. If French forces are subsequently targeted, Paris could face pressure to retaliate quickly.

What begins as a defensive deployment could gradually become an operational commitment with much wider implications. Krieg explained that the same is likely to apply to naval deployments around the Strait of Hormuz, adding that escalation in one theatre can rapidly affect another. France's ties with Iran have already been strained over tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and political rhetoric against each other. In July and August, France strongly condemned Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

In July, two French Embassy staff members were detained in Tehran and then declared personae non gratae. Iran's Foreign Ministry said the diplomats had interfered in Iran's internal affairs under the pretext of engaging with civil society. In August, French Foreign Minister Barrot expelled two Iranian diplomats in retaliation. A new regional security architecture is taking shape as Washington shifts its posture. Speaking at the Global Security Forum in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Tuesday, US Envoy Tom Barrack said that America is moving away from its traditional security-for-oil relationship with the Middle East and no longer seeks to dominate the region.

The US no longer wants to own, said Barrack, who serves as US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria. The bargain is not to control, but to not leave. We're not leaving. Barrack acknowledged that following months of Iranian strikes on their infrastructure, regional partners are increasingly recognizing the limits of US involvement. Across the Middle East itself, defense partnerships have grown rapidly. In August, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan signed a trilateral security pact, also known as the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. The pact has been activated amid Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

But there may now be an opening for other external actors like France to find more of a role. Krieg said Gulf states do not believe France will replace the US, whose military and intelligence infrastructure remains unmatched. Rather, they want a diversified network of security partnerships. France is particularly attractive because it possesses genuine expeditionary capabilities and has demonstrated a willingness to defend Gulf partners without joining Washington's offensive campaign against Iran, he said. Its military presence has consequently acquired greater political significance.