News - Middle East: The French newspaper "Le Monde" criticized the new president of UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed, pointing out that he rules the country with a fire fist and exploits Abu Dhabi's wealth to impose his influence.

"Already unofficially in charge for a number of years, the new leader succeeds his brother Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who died on Friday, as head of one of the most powerful countries in the Middle East," The newspaper said.

The newspaper stated that Mohammed bin Zayed had subjugated the UAE, turning it into a police state that does not tolerate dissidents, and he also developed an aggressive foreign policy since 2010.

The UAE's long-time de facto ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was appointed as president on Saturday, May 15, a day after the death of former leader Sheikh Khalifa. Sheikh Mohamed was elected by the Federal Supreme Council, becoming the ruler of the oil-rich country founded by his father in 1971.

The French president has made the United Arab Emirates the cornerstone of his move in the Arab-Muslim world, a partnership highlighted by the purchase of 80 Rafale fighter jets, signed in December 2021 in Abu Dhabi.

The Federal Supreme Council, the body composed of the rulers of the seven emirates unanimously, appointed the man nicknamed "Mohammed bin Zayed" as president, confirming the succession plan that had been prepared for a long time.

The imbalance of wealth between oil-rich Abu Dhabi and the other emirates, has led to the emergence of a kind of centralization at the expense of the federal goal of the United Arab Emirates.

Abu Dhabi saved the city from bankruptcy by bailing out its debt-laden money real estate sector. The iconic Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper 828 meters high, is a symbol of this rescue operation.

In Abu Dhabi, Macron spoke of close cooperation with the UAE, but he again ignored the grave human rights violations committed by Abu Dhabi in recent years.

In 2013, Abu Dhabi participated in the overthrow of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, then it intervened militarily in Libya in 2014 and Yemen in 2015. It also opened a military base in the Horn of Africa and on the Yemeni island of Socotra.

This diplomacy, which earned the UAE the nickname Sparta, had mixed and sometimes disastrous results, which forced Mohammed bin Zayed, during the past three years, to back down.