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Egypt's purchase of French jets financed 'by French loan'

Egyptian president said €3.2 billion of the €5.2 billion cost of buying France's Rafale fighter planes came from French government loan.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

The French government loaned Egypt 3.2 billion euros to finance the recent multibillion-euro purchase of French military equipment, Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in an interview on al-Arabiya TV on Saturday, reports Reuters.

Egypt signed an agreement this month to buy 5.2 billion euros worth of French weapons, including 24 Rafale combat jets made by Dassault Aviation, a multi-mission naval frigate, and air-to-air missiles.

"The last equipment we got from France was with a French loan worth 3.2 billion euros and this loan was extended from the French government," President Abdel Fatatah al-Sisi said in the interview.

Read more of this report from Reuters.