The ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to France, Khalifa Ahmad Mubarak, was assassinated in Paris on 8 February 1984.

[6] On September 15, 2021, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and to improve cooperation between the two nations.

While Macron said the contracts were important to deepen the military ties with the Gulf nation, the human rights groups raised concerns about the Emirates’ involvement in the conflicts in Yemen and Libya.

Intelligence Online suggested that Trends might use its senior adviser and the IRIS director, Pascal Boniface, to help UAE navigate its way into Paris.

Abu Dhabi was considering an offset agreement to order more Rafales, despite official French denial of the initial contract signed in 2021, which also received criticism from human rights groups.