In the shadow of the statues of Descartes, Richelieu and Lavoisier punctuating the large amphitheater chosen for the occasion, Emmanuel Macron wanted to make an impression for Act II of his speech at the Sorbonne. With his serious speech, the French president – for whom “Europe can die” – however left the foreign press somewhat perplexed. “While in 2017 he mainly showed impatience and accused the EU of being ‘too slow, too weak, too ineffective, on Thursday he dramatized the situation on the continent,’” underlines the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitungwhich headlines on “Macron’s dark vision of a deadly Europe”.
By spreading his speech over nearly two hours, the French president did not bet on clarity either, believes La Libre Belgique. “Seven years after his first ambitious, even visionary speech on Europe delivered at the Sorbonne, Mr. Macron wanted to make a new milestone, but diluted his vision of European construction for the next ten years in a long, sometimes technical dissertation. , whose target audience is at times difficult to guess – if not the President himself”, scathes the French-speaking daily.
“Europe remains Macron’s theme”
Less severe, El País sees in the Head of State’s plea for a “powerful Europe” the legacy of one of his illustrious predecessors. “Just like General Charles de Gaulle, had “a certain idea of France”, he has “a certain idea of Europe”, slips the Madrid daily for which “Europe remains Macron’s theme, where he feels most comfortable and where he maintains an influence which continues to weaken in his country.” A good way, too, to try to get his party back on track before the next electoral elections. “To a little more than a month before the vote for the European elections, the French leader launched his campaign for June 9, while his list is doubled in the polls by that of Marine Le Pen”, points out the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.