French president praises Qatar’s efforts to generate billions in investments
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called on Qatar to “continue” the changes that he said the World Cup organized by the emirate was a witness against a European approach that criticizes the human rights situation, especially the rights of workers and gays in the Gulf state.
It seems that the French President is seeking to reduce the European rhetoric critical of Doha and focusing on investments and economic benefits, especially since the wealthy Gulf country has important investments in Paris and various French cities in various fields.
“The FIFA World Cup, the first organized event in the Arab world, testifies to the concrete changes that are taking place,” Macron said via Twitter between the halves of the France-Denmark match. Qatar has embarked on this path and must continue. They can count on our support.”
Macron said on November 17th, the eve of the competition, that “sport” should not be “politicized.”
Qatar has come under fire for deaths, accidents and non-payment of wages to foreign workers, while observers say Qatar has introduced major reforms to improve worker safety and hold firms that do not comply with standards accountable.
The authorities have paid hundreds of millions of euros to compensate for salary arrears, but human rights organizations have said the reforms are too late and insufficient.
The European Parliament on Thursday approved a draft resolution denouncing reports of LGBT+ rights violations in Qatar during the World Cup, calling on Doha to decriminalize same-sex relationships in a non-binding recommendation.
MEPs also urged the Qatari authorities to thoroughly investigate deaths and injuries of migrant workers during preparations for the tournament in what appears to be European solidarity against Doha’s abuses.
Observers believe that Macron has violated European trends in rejecting Qatari violations, which reached the point where some officials called for a boycott of the World Cup games. This confirms Qatari successes in organizing without mentioning human rights files.
Qatar has billions of dollars of investments in France, especially in tourism, sports, industry and other fields, and Qatari businessman Nasser al-Khelaifi, owner of the Paris-Anne Germain team, which has made some infusion of billions in the Paris Club.
Non-official French entities launched wide criticism of Qatar because of human rights files, while French Member of Parliament Nathalie Goulet confirmed that her email was hacked by hackers hired by Doha to spy on her as part of attempts to improve Qatar’s image before the World Cup.
Criticism within France was not limited to statements. The French judicial authorities decided to open an investigation with a French construction company that built sports facilities in Qatar for the World Cup 2022, after reports of widespread violations of the rights of workers at World Cup facilities.
But the official French position represented by President Macron was more pragmatic than some domestic positions and the official German position, which stressed the need to protect gays and preserve workers’ rights during the World Cup.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had misled the Qatari authorities by deceiving the World Cup organizing committee by attending the match of the German national team against Japan with the same-sex badge.
Germany increased its defense of the LGBT+ community and the consumption of alcohol during the World Cup matches, a move criticized by the Qatari authorities who call for respecting their traditions.
