France could impose Saudi sanctions if guilt in Khashoggi killing proved

PARIS — France could impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia if its intelligence services establish the kingdom is behind the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said on Wednesday.

France has been relatively guarded so far in reacting to Khashoggi’s death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul given its close diplomatic ties with Riyadh and commercial relations spanning energy, finance and arms.

“As long as the facts have not been clearly established and corroborated by our information services, we will not take any decision,” said Griveaux.

“But on the other hand, once light has been shed on the matter and has been corroborated by our services, based on the hypothesis that Saudi Arabia’s responsibility has been proved, then we would draw the necessary conclusions and impose appropriate sanctions,” he said.

It was the first time Paris had publicly brought up the possibility of sanctions, although diplomats cautioned that there would not be any “hasty” decision and there were concerns over harming France’s political relationship with the kingdom.

Griveaux added that any sanctions move would not solely involve limiting arms sales. He did not elaborate.

Khashoggi’s death on October 2 has triggered global outrage. Saudi officials have acknowledged that Saudi operatives were responsible for his death, but the explanation around how he was killed and why have shifted.

“We won’t take any hasty decision on the future of our strategic relationship,” a French presidential source added.

“France’s partnership with Saudi Arabia is a long term one, which does not deal only with cooperation over defence matters, the partnership is also economic, cultural, and in the area of energy,” the source said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the killing a “monstrosity” on Monday and vowed to halt German arms exports to Riyadh until the case is cleared up. 

But Macron on Tuesday refused to take questions about halting arms sales.

From 2008-17, Saudi Arabia was the second-biggest purchaser of French arms, with deals totalling more than 11 billion euros.