JACQUES WITT / AFP
‘Pathetic, as usual’: Why Macron is attracting new international criticism? (photo taken on April 7 in China)
POLITICS – A questionable record. Back from China, and as he prepares to fly to the Netherlands, Emmanuel Macron is criticized on the international scene for having publicly asked Europeans not to systematically put themselves in the wheel of the United States , especially on the thorny issue of Taiwan.
The French Head of State did in fact give an interview to the echoes and to Politico on board the plane which brought him back from Canton to Paris, Saturday April 8. An interview in which he details his vision of diplomacy and international relations, with a concept that is dear to him: “ strategic autonomy ” of the European Union.
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For the President of the Republic, “the big risk” for the Old Continent would be “to find ourselves drawn into crises that are not ours, which would prevent us from building our strategic autonomy. ” ” The paradox », according to Emmanuel Macron, “would be that we start to follow American policy, by a kind of panic reflex. »
And to insist, more specifically on Taiwan: “The question that is put to us Europeans is the following […] Do we have an interest in speeding up the subject of Taiwan? No. The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans should follow suit on this subject and adapt to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction. » A message, certainly diplomatic, but not always well received abroad… what is more at a time when China is conducting an exercise “total encirclement” from the island.
More European or American elected officials react
The declarations of the President of the Republic against the ” block-to-block logic “seem to actually arouse the tension of some in Europe and the United States, where the political class and the authorities agree to make China the only power capable of challenging them for world supremacy, ” the main hazard. »
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In addition press articles across the Atlantic who recount a visit that was complacent with regard to the Chinese authorities, American elected officials are surprised or ask for clarification. This is the case, for example, of Marco Rubio, Donald Trump’s former rival in 2016 within the Republican Party. The Florida senator thus split a video on Saturday (palm trees required) to ask Europeans if Emmanuel Macron was speaking on their behalf, while mocking a diplomatic reversal after “ six hour visit. »
« We need to know if Macron speaks for Macron, or if he speaks for Europe. We need to find out soon, because China is very enthusiastic about what he said. “Launches the American elected official, recalling the links that traditionally unite Washington and Brussels.
We need to find out if @EmmanuelMacron speaks for Europe
After his 6 hour meeting in China he told reporters that…
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio)
In Europe, the Estonian parliamentarian Marko Mihkelson, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu also responds: “ Why, President Macron? Europe should stand with the United States to balance China’s power”, he writes, relaying the Politico article. Still on social networks, Garry Kasparov, Russian opponent of the power of Vladimir Putin, in exile in New York, uses less diplomatic language to castigate the exit of the French president.
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An episode that will leave traces?
« Pathetic from Macron, as usual “, he writes, especially today” when he has just met the Chinese dictator. According to the former world chess champion, “Europe is at war today precisely because it tried to avoid getting involved in a crisis, when Vladimir Putin first invaded Ukraine in 2014.”
Without going so far as this parallel, several observers and specialists in international relations, in France or abroad, do indeed believe that the statements of the President of the Republic are, at best, unwelcome. The political scientist and founder of think tank American Eurasia Group Ian Bremmer, for example, points to the French President’s contradiction in insisting on the need for Europe to reduce its dependence on the United States, without dwelling on dependence on the China.
In this spirit, Antoine Bondaz, a specialist in Chinese foreign policy, believes that the President of the Republic has made several errors in substance and form. ” Upon returning from a state visit to China, Macron finds nothing better than to criticize the United States. This reinforces the strong doubts of our partners of an equidistance from Paris between Washington and Beijing. “, analyzes the researcher of the Foundation for Strategic Research in a series of messages published on Twitter, while the position of the French head of state gives the impression, according to him, of making Americans “ solely responsible for the tension around Taiwan.
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THREAD 1/ On Taiwan, by only evoking the “rhythm 🇺🇸” and an “overreaction 🇨🇳”, Macron makes 🇺🇸 the only…
— Antoine Bondaz (@AntoineBondaz)
A positioning in totale contradiction ” with ” French official documents » and the ” multilateral positions “Decided for example by the G7, notes the teacher at Science Po.
« Under the pretext of realism (…) Macron only brings inconsistency and ambiguity to his foreign policy, thus weakening cooperation with our affinity partners “, still stings Antoine Bondaz, about an episode which “ will leave traces with our allies. An analysis shared by MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, for whom the ” impact “such remarks will be” lasting impact on France’s credibility in Europe. »
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