The 40-year-old French President can be heard talking to Mohammed bin Salman when the pair recently met in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Friday.
It is thought Emmanuel Macron is referring to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
While a lot of the recording is inaudible, Macron can be heard saying: “I do worry. I am worried… I told you.”
The Saudi ruler is then heard to reply: “Yes, you told me. Thank you very much.”
In response, Macron says: “You never listen to me,” with the prince responding, “No, I listen, of course.”
Later on in the exchange, bin Salman says: “It’s OK I can deal with it.”
At the end of the video, Macron can be heard saying: “I am a man of my word.”
The footage was posted by the Saudi Gazette which shows the two leaders speaking in hushed tones with their heads close together as they chatted on the sidelines of the summit.
The French government said the video showed “a sort of contrast between the prince's face sporting an embarrassed smile and the president’s face, which was rather stern and was keen to convey these messages in a very firm manner.”
An official said Mr Macron conveyed a”very firm” messages to the prince over the murder of Khashoggi and on the need to find a solution to the war in Yemen.
Macron had called for international involvement in the investigation into Khahoggi’s killing in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul last month.
While US intelligence agencies have concluded the crown prince ordered Khashoggi’s killing this has been strongly denied by the Arab country.
The seemingly terse exchanged between the prince and Macron was in stark contrast to the friendly greeting Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave Russian President Vladimir Putin with the pair laughing and giving each other high fives.
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