The Saudi ship that was to load French weapons in Le Havre leaves empty

The Saudi ship that was supposed to take delivery of French weapons in Le Havre was moving away Friday from the port area of Seine-Maritime without cargo, said Friday close source of local Communist MP Jean-Paul Lecoq.

The transfer of these unspecified weapons, which therefore did not a priori take place, revived the debate on the advisability of supplying arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which embarked on the war in Yemen in March 2015 against Shiite Houthi rebels, supported by Iran.

Two French NGOs, ACAT (Action of the Christians for the Abolition of Torture) and ASER (Republican Ethical Security Action), had introduced a suspensive judicial remedy to prevent the controversial shipment. This summary was rejected Friday.