Most French want halt to arms sales to Saudi Arabia: Poll

Seventy-five percent of French people want a halt to the country’s weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the other countries waging a destructive war on  Yemen, a poll has found.

According to the survey conducted by the YouGov polling company between March 20 and 21, the percentage equals seven in every 10 French people.

The results came out on Monday, coinciding with the third anniversary of the war which has left about 14,000 people dead and displaced three million others.

Among the respondents, 88 percent said France has to stop arms exports to all countries where there is a risk that the weapons could be used against civilian populations.

France is the world’s third biggest arms exporter.

“On the occasion of the third anniversary of Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, it is high time for the (French) government to hear this message,” said Eoin Dubsky, campaign manager for the SumOfUs advocacy NGO, which commissioned the survey.

“[French President] Emmanuel Macron, who presents himself to the world as a humanist president, must pass from words to deeds,” he added.

In January, Germany almost stopped selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and nearly all of its allies waging war on Yemen.

Germany stops arms sales to Saudi Arabia

Germany stops selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and almost all of its allies waging war on Yemen.

The United States and the United Kingdom, however, have even increased their arms sales to the kingdom, while France has been steady in its weapons sales to the aggressors.