Le Monde daily reported on Friday, August 7th indicating Egypt and Saudi Arabia are eager to purchase French Mistral warships, originally constructed to be sold to Russia. However, the Ukraine crisis pushed the French government to cancel this sale.
King Salman is seeking to establish a naval fleet in the Red Sea and Mediterranean for Egypt, Le Monde added citing a French official.
This Le Monde report was published one day after French President François Hollande participated in the inauguration of the new Suez Canal. These amphibious warships, each worth $1.3 billion, can also carry helicopters.
 

Egyptian President Abdulfattah al-Sisi and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman signed an agreement on July 30th to escalate their joint economic-military cooperation.
On Friday France24 described this pact as the cooperation of Saudi Arabia and Egypt aimed at confronting Iran’s increasing meddling in the Middle East.