SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
74% of French people against weapons sales to Saudi: poll
Paris, March 26 (AFP) Mar 26, 2018
Three out of four French people believe it is "unacceptable" to sell military weapons to Saudi Arabia, according to a poll published Monday.

The study by independent research group YouGov was commissioned by the anti-corporation lobby group SumOfUs to mark the third anniversary of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.

Several NGOs including Amnesty International are seeking to raise pressure on President Emmanuel Macron over French arms sales ahead of the visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Paris in early April.

Norway has suspended arms exports to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia's coalition partner in Yemen, while the new German government says no weapons will be supplied to countries involved in the conflict.

Seventy-four percent of French people questioned for the poll said they were against selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and 71 percent were against supplying to the United Arab Emirates.

France, one of the world's biggest arms exporters, continues to sell equipment to both countries and campaigners claim Paris does not have sufficient guarantees that the weapons will not be used in Yemen.

French exports have included Caesar artillery guns and ammunition, sniper rifles and armoured vehicles.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's office insists that the weapons sold to Saudi Arabia are for defence and are only being used to deter rebel attacks.

In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition of nine African and Middle Eastern countries intervened in the civil war in Yemen.

The coalition supports Yemeni pro-government forces against Huthi rebels, who are supported by Iran and control Sana'a, Yemen's capital.

Since then, nearly 10,000 Yemeni citizens have been killed in the conflict, and more than 53,000 have been injured.

The UN has called it the "worst humanitarian crisis" in the world.

The study was carried out online by YouGov on March 20-21 with a sample of 1,026 people aged 18 and over.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Unexpected Dust Patterns Found on Uranus Moons Confound Scientists
Earth-based telescopes offer a fresh look at cosmic dawn
Breakthrough hybrid model restores orbit accuracy for BeiDou-3 satellites

24/7 Energy News Coverage
World's first non-silicon 2D computer developed
From plastic trash to solar hydrogen a practical method emerges
Auto sector reels from China's rare earth restrictions

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
AI-enabled control system helps autonomous drones stay on target in uncertain environments
Japan says two Chinese aircraft carriers seen in Pacific
NATO learns as Ukraine's 'creativity' changes battlefield

24/7 News Coverage
'No doubt' Canadian firm will be first to extract deep sea minerals: CEO
What is the high seas treaty?
World leaders urged to step up for overexploited oceans



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.