The first French warplanes will be delivered from 2027, say officials, and would create some 7,000 jobs.

France has particularly deep ties to the UAE, where it has a naval base and French warplanes and personnel also are stationed in a major facility outside the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi. 

Mr Macron travelled there shortly after his 2017 election to inaugurate Louvre Abu Dhabi, built under a $1.2 billion (£903.8m) agreement to share the name and art of the world-famous museum in Paris. On Friday, the contract was extended another 10 years to 2047.

But human rights groups warned that the weapons the UAE provides to its Gulf allies could be used “for unlawful attacks or even war crimes” in Yemen as well as Libya.

In an embarrassment for Mr Macron, a group of NGOs on Friday filed a legal complaint in Paris against the leaders of UAE and Saudi Arabia for war crimes, torture and funding terrorism.

French Green presidential candidate Yannick Jadot said: “France shames us when she arms authoritarian regimes. France will be a beacon when its foreign policy is exemplary in the fight for freedom and climate justice.”