French President Emmanuel Macron received His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, in Paris during his two days official visit to France. The visit continued the momentum of President Macron’s December 2024 state visit to Saudi Arabia and marked the first meeting of the Franco-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council, giving the relationship a more structured framework for cooperation, where both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in strategic areas including defence and security, energy transition, connectivity, investment, technology and innovation, while supporting the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and France 2030. Discussions also highlighted artificial intelligence, fintech, cybersecurity, tourism, and cultural cooperation.
During the 2026 visit, the two leaders discussed the major economic and strategic issues shaping the bilateral partnership, alongside key regional developments. France and Saudi Arabia also emphasised closer coordination with Gulf partners in support of stability and peace in the Middle East. The visit further carried a strong economic dimension, France and Saudi Arabia is set to develop a major mixed-use, multi-park destination in Cergy-Pontoise, in the Île-de-France region of France, bringing together aspects of entertainment, leisure, hospitality, culture, and sport. The current ambitions include up to three major entertainment anchors, hotels and complementary leisure experiences, with an estimated investment of around 6 billion Euros and generation of around 22,000 jobs over the development lifecycle.
The economic partnership was reinforced through more than 22 agreements and memorandum of understandings signed alongside the visit. It includes defence, healthcare, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, entertainment, energy, industry, financial services, transport and logistics, health, culture, tourism, and artificial intelligence. The growth of bilateral trade, as noted and commended by both sides, reached approximately $11.8 billion in 2025, highlighting the growing scale of the economic relationship.
The partnership also extends beyond trade and investment. France and Saudi Arabia reaffirmed the importance of their cooperation on AlUla, particularly in archaeology, heritage and culture, and agreed to extend the Saudi-French partnership on AlUla until 2035. The two sides also agreed to develop an evolved framework reflecting the maturity of their cooperation and AlUla’s growing role as a major cultural and heritage destination.
The Crown Prince and President Macron also attended the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup on 23 August in Paris. France and Saudi Arabia reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in culture, youth and sports, including through joint programmes, and activities. Saudi Arabia also welcomed France’s participation in Expo 2030 Riyadh, agreeing to make the event a highlight of French-Saudi relations and to involve relevant stakeholders from both countries.
The visit of Crown Prince underlines the broader ambition of both the countries: to deepen their strategic partnership, expand economic cooperation, and coordinate on regional and international issues. The first meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council therefore represents an important step from high-level political dialogue towards a more institutionalised, investment-driven and forward-looking France-Saudi relationship.
