Macron's Gulf Tour Seeks New Oil Supplies and Arms Sales

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Bahrain as part of a three-day Gulf tour, following visits to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE); Qatar is the next stop. The trip comes as France is under pressure from violent protests and surging energy prices.

Analysts say Macron's tour pursues two parallel goals: finding alternative oil and gas supplies as global fuel shipments are disrupted by the conflict between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, and boosting French defense equipment exports to the region.

Energy deals and bilateral cooperation

On the first day of the trip, France and Kuwait signed eight cooperation agreements and documents covering defense, artificial intelligence and investment. In Abu Dhabi, Macron met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to advancing cooperation on energy, advanced technology and artificial intelligence.

Citing French Foreign Ministry figures, the UAE is currently France's largest import partner in the Gulf region, with bilateral trade reaching 10.8 billion euros (about 12.1 billion USD) in 2025. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), France supplied 18% of the UAE's imported weapons and defense equipment in 2025, second only to the United States at 42%.

On energy, supply commitments were secured during the trip. According to Bloomberg, the UAE pledged to supply France 100,000 tonnes of diesel per month (roughly 746,000 barrels) for an unspecified period. Bahrain also agreed to supply 100,000 tonnes of diesel per month on the same terms, while Saudi Arabia will supply 95,000 tonnes in each of October and November through TotalEnergies. The deals were driven by oil prices above 100 USD a barrel.

Macron traveled with senior executives from France's two largest energy companies, TotalEnergies and Engie. Disruptions to refined product supplies such as gasoline and diesel caused by the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz have at times left up to 20% of French filling stations out of stock since fighting began.

Stepping up defense cooperation

Beyond securing oil imports, France is also seeking to increase defense equipment exports to the Gulf, as the country's national debt stands at its highest level since just after World War II, according to analysts.

France has strengthened its military partnership with Saudi Arabia, which is confronting Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen. In late September, Macron said France would deploy "military assets" to Saudi Arabia to help protect the Yanbu oil port on the Red Sea. In a television interview, he specified that "soldiers, radars and defense systems" would be sent.

Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, the main route carrying oil from eastern fields across the Arabian Peninsula to the Red Sea, has been attacked in the conflict with Iran. It is the main way the kingdom can keep exporting oil while the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted, while Houthi forces have also attacked Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.

Last week, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said "operational elements" to protect Saudi oil facilities had been deployed, without specifying which military assets had been sent. The same Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot met his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, to review bilateral ties and discuss regional developments.

According to Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King's College London, what France can offer Gulf states is military capability that does not depend entirely on the United States — an increasingly valuable factor.

"France can offer defense industrial cooperation, technology transfer, joint production, training and greater operational autonomy," Krieg said. "For countries like the UAE and Qatar, this means gradually reducing dependence on US weapons systems, spare parts, intelligence and political permission."

However, Krieg also flagged France's central "dilemma": whether deeper engagement in the region could draw the country into the ongoing conflict.

"Consider the protection of Saudi energy infrastructure against Houthi attacks. French air defense systems intercepting missiles would directly undermine the Houthis' military strategy. If French forces then become targets, Paris could face pressure to retaliate. What begins as a defensive deployment can gradually become an operational commitment with far broader consequences," he said.

France-Iran relations have also been strained by reciprocal diplomatic expulsions. In July and August, France strongly condemned Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. In July, two French embassy staff were detained in Tehran and later declared personae non gratae; Iran's Foreign Ministry accused the diplomats of "interfering in Iran's internal affairs under the guise of engaging with civil society." In August, Foreign Minister Barrot expelled two Iranian diplomats in response.

A regional security order being reshaped

Speaking at the Global Security Forum in Doha, Qatar, US envoy Tom Barrack said Washington is moving away from its traditional security-for-oil relationship with the Middle East and no longer seeks to dominate the region.

"America no longer wants to own," said Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria. "The deal is not control, it's not leaving. We're not leaving."

Barrack acknowledged that after months of Iranian attacks on regional infrastructure, partners are increasingly aware of the limits of US engagement. In the Middle East, defense partnerships have multiplied: in August, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a trilateral security pact known as the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which was activated amid Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

According to Krieg, Gulf states do not see France as a replacement for the United States — which retains superior military and intelligence infrastructure — but want a "diversified network of security partners."

"France is particularly attractive because it possesses genuine expeditionary capability and has shown willingness to protect Gulf partners without joining Washington's offensive campaign against Iran," Krieg said. "As a result, France's military presence has taken on greater political significance."