Egypt’s Sisi Meets with Business Leaders on 3rd Day in France

French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
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Egypt’s Sisi Meets with Business Leaders on 3rd Day in France

French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi met Wednesday with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on the third day of his official visit to France.

Sisi also met with a dozen business leader before heading back to his residence in Paris to receive the Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD.)

Several French companies, including oil giant Total and underground metro operator RATP, were hoping to secure future deals.

Sisi’s visit is focusing on economic cooperation and the fight against extremism.

On Tuesday, the Egyptian president held talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. They discussed the crisis in Libya, Egypt's chaotic North African neighbor, and the war in Syria.

The anti-terrorism file was strongly present in the talks between the Egyptian delegation and French officials.

France has reaffirmed its support to Egypt as a key country to stabilize the troubled region.

Macron was keen to emphasize the “common battle” between Paris and Cairo, noting that France “stands by Egypt because the security of this country is also our security.”

Sisi, for his part, stressed that terrorism was the biggest challenge facing growth and development in his country.



Traffic on French High-Speed Trains Gradually Improving after Sabotage

Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
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Traffic on French High-Speed Trains Gradually Improving after Sabotage

Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
Workers operate to reconnect the signal box to the track in its technical ducts in Vald' Yerres, near Chartres on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)

Traffic on France's TGV high-speed trains was gradually returning to normal on Saturday after engineers worked overnight repairing sabotaged signal stations and cables that caused travel chaos on Friday, the opening day of the Paris Olympic Games.

In Friday's pre-dawn attacks on the high-speed rail network vandals damaged infrastructure along the lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east. Another attack on the Paris-Marseille line was foiled, French rail operator SNCF said.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.

"On the Eastern high-speed line, traffic resumed normally this morning at 6:30 a.m. while on the North, Brittany and South-West high-speed lines, 7 out of 10 trains on average will run with delays of 1 to 2 hours," SNCF said in a statement on Saturday morning.

"At this stage, traffic will remain disrupted on Sunday on the North axis and should improve on the Atlantic axis for weekend returns," it added.

SNCF reiterated that transport plans for teams competing in the Olympics would be guaranteed.