DOMINANT ANGLE
Paris is deciphering the weaknesses in Saudi Arabia's security architecture: between the Pakistani promise, American restraint, and the discreet call to Israel, Riyadh is seeking to fill the void left by Washington in the face of the Houthis.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
An unprecedented air alert was triggered over Riyadh on Friday night, with explosions heard by an AFP journalist, without the kingdom specifying the origin.
- 02
Washington approved the sale of 48 F-35s for $24.3 billion on Thursday, but refused to strike the Houthis despite a request from Mohammed bin Salman, according to CBS News.
- 03
The Pakistani army spokesperson promised Arab News to defend Saudi Arabia "to the end, diplomatically and physically", although neither Islamabad nor Ankara has received a formal request, according to the AP.
ANALYSIS
Paris, September 19, 2026. In the night from Friday to Saturday, the Saudi civil defense triggered an unprecedented air alert in Riyadh, where AFP journalists heard powerful explosions before the signal was lifted, without the kingdom specifying the origin. The French press sees this as proof that the Yemeni conflict, revived in July by a Houthi blockade against Saudi oil tankers, has now crossed the symbolic threshold of the capital.
The French narrative emphasizes Riyadh's growing isolation. France 24 notes that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "is discovering the limits of his alliance with Washington": Donald Trump refuses to strike the Houthis despite his request, according to CBS News, and is content, according to the US State Department, to approve the sale of 48 F-35s for $24.3 billion on Thursday, a delivery that "will not be effective for a long time". RFI reports that American diplomats met with Houthi representatives in Muscat, obtaining guarantees that the US fleet and international trade would be spared - at the price, according to the media, of a de facto abandonment of Saudi interests.
In the face of this American withdrawal, the French media are examining Riyadh's alternatives. The mutual defense pact signed in September 2025 is being put to the test: the Pakistani army spokesman promised Arab News to defend the kingdom "to the end, diplomatically and physically", but France 24 notes, citing the AP, that neither Pakistan nor Turkey has received a formal Saudi request for support. L'Express documents a more unexpected track: discussions, under the aegis of the US CENTCOM command, between Riyadh and Israel on intelligence support against the Houthis, who have taken the port of Mokha and the island of Perim, blocking the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
On the humanitarian level, Le Monde reports the first Saudi death recorded since July - a Yemeni killed in Taif by drone debris - and the "total solidarity" expressed by the EU, which urges the Houthis to cease their strikes. Saudi maritime traffic remains, according to 20 Minutes citing the Kpler platform, reduced to a third of its usual level since September 11, while 26 new Saudi strikes on Taiz were announced on Friday by the Houthis.
SOURCES (6)
- 20 MinutesMEDIUM
- Le Monde InternationalMEDIUM
- HuffPost FranceMEDIUM
- L'ExpressMEDIUM
