Read moreAs several international media outlets have noted, the website "Visit Saudi", which promotes the tourist appeal of the kingdom, has added two topics to the "frequently asked questions" section that may have surprised foreign observers. The first is: "Are LGBT people welcome in Saudi Arabia?" ", the second is: "Are unmarried couples welcome in Saudi Arabia? "These two questions are legitimate, especially for Western tourists who are hesitant to go to Saudi Arabia, but what is surprising is that the Ministry of Tourism now has no qualms about asking them and answering them very clearly. In both cases, the answer is the same: "Everyone is welcome in Saudi Arabia and we will not ask you such questions when you arrive anyway. » It is even specified that unmarried couples are allowed to share accommodation and, of course, we find on the site a sentence indicating that it is important to act publicly in accordance with the customs of the country you are visiting. Unmarried couples and illegal homosexuals However, the law is particularly clear regarding unmarried couples and homosexuality: these are illegal practices and punishable by criminal law (this can go as far as the death penalty in both cases). However, we explained in the book Woman is the Future of the Gulf that convictions were extremely rare in practice and that, in the case of homosexuality, it was only invoked in addition to a more serious motive, to increase a sentence (and even then, the last convictions seemed to date back to the 2000s). The practice, as we saw with the case of the most famous unmarried personality in the kingdom, Cristiano Ronaldo, tends more towards the development of a form of tolerance like that which was promoted by the United Arab Emirates. During our first trip as a couple, my partner and I had a few scares when going through customs with our three children even though we weren't married. No one asked us about it, not even at the hotel, even though all the former expats had warned us that this might happen. Already, we felt that, faced with very harsh laws, discreetly turning a blind eye seemed to be the best solution. We must not be fooled. The Western media, as is often the case, are doubtful when they comment on this change of tone. We have thus been able to read that this communication was made to "reassure", to "give an image", for financial reasons or even that the population would not accept it... In reality, we must not be fooled: the Saudis understand English perfectly and read the international press. They know perfectly well that the kingdom is opening up and do not oppose it because they are taking advantage of it: after years where they could do almost nothing, the opening, even modest, represents an opportunity that they would be wrong to deprive themselves of. They also know that in other countries, customs are different and that the desire to welcome the world to Saudi Arabia will make them meet people who are not like them. For several years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has adopted a course that seems to be confirmed in all aspects, whether economic, diplomatic, social or security: that of economic growth and prosperity that can only be achieved in a context of stability, civil and regional peace, driven by tolerance demanded at all levels. This explains the diplomatic rapprochements with China, Syria, Iran and the relative neutrality towards Israel. It is in this context that we can explain the investments in all areas, but also the social advances such as the increasingly spectacular promotion of women at all levels of society, one of whom has just flown into space. A certain idea of ​​tolerance Those familiar with the area will also note that, when walking through the streets of Riyadh, the police or military presence is now much more discreet than in any European city. Here we are also in an illustration of the desire to pacify, soften and promote a certain idea of ​​tolerance for entirely economic purposes. While analysts had left a country engaged in an interminable war in Yemen, which had organized a blockade of its Qatari neighbor and whose management of opponents was at the very least brutal, it is quite complicated to realize that in parallel Saudi Arabia is becoming a country that wants to be "business friendly" and therefore is now seeking to avoid any form of regional unrest, even if it means forging alliances that seemed unlikely a few years ago. Riyadh was the seat of Wahhabism and the religious police terrorized the inhabitants. Today, the calls to prayer can barely be heard, rendered almost inaudible by the lower volume imposed by the authorities. No one knows when this gap between the written standard, which is always very strict, and official communication followed to a certain extent by real practice will stop growing. Today, therefore, LGBT people are officially "like everyone else", welcome in Saudi Arabia... and the penal code still provides for the death penalty against them. After all, the legislation is the same in the UAE, and no one pays attention to it anymore. The most pessimistic will speak of hypocrisy, the optimists, of which I am one, will speak of Arab modernity which, after all, suits both conservatives and liberals and which there is nothing to say is not sustainable.

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