PARIS (AP) — The crown prince of Saudi Arabia has enjoyed a royal welcome to France, with a private dinner in the Louvre Museum hosted by President Emmanuel Macron.
An official in Macron’s office said the previously unannounced dinner Sunday was held at the Louvre because the Saudi government has a partnership with the museum, a former royal palace. Macron has also hosted other world leaders at famed French monuments.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to sign a “strategic partnership” with Macron in the Elysee Palace on Tuesday. France is hoping to profit from the prince’s shake-up of the conservative kingdom to forge a new kind of commercial relationship.
The prince is being met by protests Monday over the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes in Yemen to fight Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
