French President Emmanuel Macron has been visiting the Gulf Arab states, performing his solemn duty as his country’s Exporter-in-Chief, which in that part of the world means the sale of weapons. 

The United Arab Emirates has long been a major customer for the French arms industry. In the past decade, it bought $5 billion worth of weapons from Paris. But now the UAE has outdone itself, agreeing to the purchase of 80 Rafale fighter jets as well as 12 transport helicopters, costing a total of more than $19 billion, almost four times as much as the total sales of French weapons to the UAE between 2010 and 2021. 

There were smiles all around, among the French and Emirati officials in Abu Dhabi attending the final signing of the sale. But not everyone was pleased. 

Iran, the neighborhood bully that lies just across the Gulf from the UAE, is distinctly unhappy. A report on Iran’s angry outburst is here: “Iran says France ‘destabilizing’ the region with weapon sales to Gulf states,” AFP, December 6, 2021:

Iran on Monday [Dec. 6] accused France of “destabilizing” the Gulf region after Paris signed a record arms deal with the United Arab Emirates for 80 Rafale fighter jets.

“We must not ignore France’s role in destabilizing the region,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference.

“We expected France to be more responsible,” he said. “The militarization of our region is unacceptable and the weapons they sell in the region are the source of turmoil.”