The visit of French President Emmanuel Macron was only for a few hours in Jeddah, but that was enough to send out the message to the world. Macron is the first prominent Western leader to meet the crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman after journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder in Turkey in 2018. MBS, as the crown prince is often called, is considered by many as being directly responsible for the journalist's murder. (https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf-news/2021/12/04/emmanuel-macron-meets-mohammed-bin-salman-in-riyadh/)

Has Macron, in a way, 'rehabilitated' Salman? That's what many French human rights activists are saying. For instance, Agnès Callamard, a French national who serves as Amnesty International's secretary-general, said that "nothing can justify" France's legitimization of Salman. He is accused of killing journalists, jailing women human rights activists, and Yemen's violence, which has resulted in thousands of deaths. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/03/emmanuel-macron-accused-of-trying-to-rehabilitate-mohammed-bin-salman)

Human Rights Watch has criticized Macron, saying that his support for Saudi Arabia is objectionable it has failed to improve human rights records domestically, "although their public relations efforts to present themselves as progressive and tolerant internationally is in full swing." The HRW has Macron to address "the atrocious 2018 murder of Khashoggi. Remaining silent on these matters would be tantamount to turning a blind eye to serious human rights violations." (https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/12/02/france-should-stop-selling-arms-united-arab-emirates-saudi-arabia)

The President's office has defended the meeting, saying the meeting didn't mean that the crown prince "back in the saddle". Macron's viewpoint is that Saudi Arabia under Salman can play an important role in stabilizing the region and also in the fight against Islamists in the Middle East and Africa.

Another important reason Macron's visit to the region is to strike weapons deals with countries like the UAE and others. Saudi Arabia is also one of France's largest weapons buyers. In fact, last year Saudi Arabia was the largest buyer of French weapons.

Read more:

Macron wraps up Gulf tour in Saudi with MBS meeting:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/4/macron-wraps-up-gulf-tour-in-saudi-with-crown-prince-meeting

Macron Hard-Power Diplomacy Helps Saudis Turn Page on:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-04/macron-hard-power-diplomacy-helps-saudis-turn-page-on-khashoggi