[PRESSTV] French President Emmanuel Macron has declined to publicly criticize the rights record of his Egyptian counterpart amid a visit by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to the Elysee Palace.Macron said at a presser with Sisi in the French capital, Gay Paree, on Tuesday that he was not in the business of giving "lessons."
"We do not give lessons without taking account of the context."
The French president also voiced support for Egypt's "fight against violent religious fundamentalism."
Macron, however, said combating extremism "should be carried out with the respect of the rule of law and human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal
liberty...
Macron's aides earlier said he had raised cases of detained activists in private during the two-hour talks with the Egyptian head of state.
The two countries marked Sisi's visit to Gay Paree with the signature of several agreements on transport, energy and cultural cooperation.
Egypt is a major buyer of French military equipment with orders worth more than 5.8 billion dollars since 2015 including for 24 Rafale fighter jets.
International rights organizations have repeatedly accused the former head of the armed forces and current President Sisi of repressive policies that stifle dissent in the media and politics, as well as the use of torture by security forces.
On Monday, Human Rights Watch urged President Macron to end La Belle France's "disgraceful policies of indulgence" toward Sisi.