Economy and society
The vertiginous fall in purchasing power is hitting middle-class households particularly hard. Inflation has returned to fairly low levels, but the sharp rise in prices since 2017 has not been offset by wage increases. The population - especially young people - still faces a lack of professional and personal prospects. More and more people have to combine several precarious jobs to support the household. Many university graduates are forced to find work well below their qualifications. However, according to many economists, the reforms launched by the government should have a beneficial effect on the Egyptian economy in the long term. The abolition of subsidies on a number of products should enable the State to reform its redistribution system to make it fairer and more efficient. Reforms are also planned to provide the country with a modern social system.
Policy
Since July 2013, the army has regained control of the country. Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, former Minister of Defense under President Mohamed Morsi, assumed the presidency in summer 2014. His presidency was marked by a strong return to authoritarian practices. Control of the media and artistic production is almost total. The coalition, which had won the majority of seats in Parliament, validated the repressive laws implemented by the government without discussing them. The government bases its legitimacy and authoritarianism on its ability to protect the country from the threats of terrorism and chaos. The government exploits the real fear of civil war to reinforce its control over the country. The major projects are numerous: a new administrative capital, new cities, numerous roads... Marked by gigantism, they are entirely decided and controlled by the armed forces and their networks, without popular consultation. It is difficult to quantify support for or opposition to the regime in Egypt: no polls are conducted, and official figures do not shine with credibility. During the last presidential elections in 2018, turnout painfully reached 41% after 3 days of voting. People testified to pressure to vote in their workplace, and even in the street. The president's re-election with 97% of the vote is not convincing many people, and the corruption scandals hovering over the regime are not improving the situation. Many activists disappear and are imprisoned, without trial and often without charge. The regime leaves no room for challenge or questioning. In April 2019, a revision of the constitution gives al-Sissi the option of remaining president until 2030.
Egypt at the international level
With the emergence of the highly influential United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Egypt has lost the regional influence it held until the 1980s. However, it remains involved in major international political issues. The question of sharing the waters of the Nile has raised tensions between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. Ethiopia is building a gigantic dam on the Nile, and negotiations are struggling over how long the dam lake will be filled, during which time the annual flow to Egypt will be greatly reduced. In parallel with the strong repression of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt has developed very tense relations with Qatar and Turkey, supporters of the Brotherhood. In Libya, Egypt supports General Haftar, the strongman of eastern Libya, against the internationally-recognized government in Tripoli. Despite anti-American rhetoric at home, the regime is heavily dependent on its alliance with Washington, from which it receives over a billion dollars in military aid. Relations with Israel have been fairly constant since the 1978 peace agreement. The Israeli government has even carried out air strikes in the Sinai Peninsula against jihadist positions in recent years. France remains a major supplier of arms to the Egyptian regime, and it is mainly economic diplomacy that is maintained by the two countries. Egypt has drawn closer to Russia since 2013, especially in terms of economic and military cooperation. In 2023, the two countries reaffirm "their mutual commitment to strengthening their relations".
A new capital
New city projects are not new to Egypt. Many of Cairo's neighbourhoods are the result of leaders' dreams of shaping a new capital. Most of these projects, however, have failed. The city centre of Khedive Ismail has lost its former splendour, Nasser's Madinet Nasr has suffered the ravages of failure to comply with town planning regulations. What will become of the new administrative capital that has been under construction for the past few years? The future will tell us. Under the impetus of President al-Sissi, the city is being built 40 kilometres from the centre of Cairo, in the direction of Suez. It is expected to have 7 million inhabitants and will house a presidential palace, the national assembly, ministries, embassies and residential districts at varying prices. The stated objective is to give Cairo a breath of fresh air by ridding it of the administrations that are said to be the main cause of the megalopolis's congestion. But the regime also wants to wrest strategic places of power from a city it has feared since the popular uprising of 2011. It is striking to note that, although the work is far from finished, the new administrative capital already has a surrounding wall. The financing of this titanic project is also controversial. Indeed, very little information is available on this subject, even though the announced cost of the project is 45 billion euros. Through a loan mechanism, one of China's largest public construction companies is financing one third of the project. China State Construction Engineering is very active in African projects and has participated in the construction of numerous buildings in Algeria. The issues surrounding the construction of this city remain numerous: water supply problems and the prohibitive price of the housing on offer in particular. However, the construction of the new capital is the flagship project of Egypt today.
