President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for a state visit just as a political crisis threatens to topple the French government. Macron touched down in Riyadh where he was due to hold talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later on Monday.
The French leader was greeted by an honour guard of sword-holding servicemen and celebratory cannon fire as he disembarked from his plane. He made no comment about the political situation in France as he arrived.
Macron's visit begins as France's less than three-month-old minority government faces the prospect of being forced out by a vote of no confidence in the coming days.
Macron's three-day stay also coincides with a flare-up of violence in Syria, where anti-government rebels have seized Aleppo, the country's second largest city.
Macron and Prince Mohammed will agree to "raise bilateral relations to the level of a strategic partnership", the French presidency said.
The two sides will see how they "work together" on the conflicts shaking the region, with Lebanon at the "heart of the discussions", the presidency said.
Macron is accompanied by about 50 senior officials from major French companies including TotalEnergies, EDF and Veolia, as well as start-ups in artificial intelligence and quantum physics
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