French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Cairo on Sunday for a two-day visit focused on addressing the worsening crisis in Gaza amid increased Israeli bombardments and a halting of humanitarian deliveries to the enclave.
The French leader was received in a ceremony by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace.
The visit will include a tripartite summit in Cairo on Monday with Mr El Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II to push for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and discuss the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid, according to a post by Mr Macron on X on Saturday.
Mr Macron last visited Egypt in October 2023 in response to the start of Israel's military campaign on Gaza in retaliation to a Hamas attack on Israeli territory which killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 people into Gaza. On Tuesday, he will visit the Egyptian port of El Arish, 50km west of the Gaza Strip, to meet humanitarian and security workers.
Anne-Claire Legendre, North Africa and Middle East adviser to Mr Macron, emphasised the importance of his visit in marking his “constant mobilisation in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza”.
The visit will also include a business forum, where several agreements are expected to be signed, Ms Legendre said, including in the areas of health, renewable energies, artificial intelligence and technology.
It coincides with the delivery of the first Rafale fighter jet to Egypt under a contract signed in 2021 between both countries, which Ms Legendre described in a press briefing as a “new stage” in the implementation of defence co-operation between the two countries.
On Friday, Arab League secretary general Ahmed Abul-Gheit warned that the “Israeli war machine” appears to be unstoppable, with the daily killing and displacement of civilians in Gaza aimed at forcing residents out of the strip by making the land uninhabitable.
He urged countries committed to peace to defend international law and act immediately to stop the heinous killing.
Since the Israeli military resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18, following a fragile two-month truce, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, including 322 children, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
More than 50,423 people have been killed since the war broke out in October 2023, with 114,638 reported injured, most of them women and children, the strip's Ministry of Health said.
Ms Legendre highlighted France's support for Egypt's mediation efforts during the conflict. “Throughout the crisis, we have provided support in terms of equipment and medicines, to allow the Egyptian health system to receive patients treated outside the Gaza Strip and, as much as possible, to also deliver humanitarian resources inside the Gaza Strip,” she said.
Humanitarian agencies have decried Israel's renewed attacks on Gaza, which have also resulted in large-scale displacement, with more than 280,000 people displaced in the past two weeks and 65 per cent of Gaza territory now under active displacement orders or within “no-go” areas designated by the Israeli army.
Aid workers have also been attacked, with the number of aid workers killed since October 2023 rising to 409, including a complex rescue operation that recovered the bodies of 15 emergency responders buried in a mass grave in Rafah.
The World Food Programme warned that hundreds of thousands of people are again at risk of severe hunger and malnutrition as humanitarian food stocks dwindle, prices soar and crossings remain closed, while the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster reports that access to water and sanitation remains severely constrained, exacerbating public health risks.
Mr Macron's visit to Egypt comes days after the EU Parliament approved a €4 billion ($4.28 billion) second tranche of a larger €7.4 billion macro-financial assistance package signed with Egypt last year. This latest approval follows the disbursement of an initial €1 billion tranche received in January 2025 under the same MFA package.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry welcomed the EU's decision, describing it as a “clear sign” of their strategic partnership and recognition of Mr El Sisi's efforts to promote regional security and stability.
Egypt and France enjoy extensive trade and co-operation on defence, transportation and technology. Egyptian exports to France amounted to $1.04 billion in 2023 with nitrogenous fertilisers being the top product. French exports to Egypt reached $2.17 billion in the same year.
