An interview stirred French and international news this week: that of Emmanuel Macron to three media during his return trip from China. The French president called on the European Union not to be “follower” from Washington or Beijing on the question of Taiwan. Comments made at 10,000 feet in the presidential plane. Is there a curse of mid-flight interviews? Speaking above the clouds has not always brought politicians luck.
The most striking case is that of Lionel Jospin. In March 2002, the Socialist Prime Minister at the time was campaigning. The presidential candidate is returning from a trip to Reunion Island. And loose on his opponent, a certain Jacques Chirac. “Aged…worn…passive…” His words trigger a huge uproar as soon as Lionel Jospin – and the journalists who accompany him – set foot in Paris.
Other controversies between heaven and earth
Last February, Emmanuel Macron’s little phrase, ” Russia must not be crushed” make noise. Emmanuel Macron had slipped it to a few journalists in his Falcon back from Munich. Talking to the press in flight is a habit for the current president. The microphones of RTL or France Inter have already interviewed him on board the presidential A330, just like Le Figaro, Current Values and others. But never RFI.
in weightlessness
In full flight, journalists are often invited for a moment with the political figure they are accompanying. Edouard Philippe, Elisabeth Borne, Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande have also confided in altitude. A flight is a moment of weightlessness, a time suspended with a certain proximity on board. Barriers are falling between journalists and advisers. And politicians too sometimes let their guard down. Not to mention the fatigue, a wrong word quickly arrived.
good pictures
Emmanuel Macron likes to stage himself in his plane. This has been the case since his first months at the Elysée. The cameras of France 2 and BFMTV were even invited to the meeting room of the device between New York and Paris. Being filmed in the air is a way of displaying an outward sign of power: a president in his presidential plane, his Elysée Palace from the sky.
A Franco-French practice?
Other heads of state do it too. Former US President Donald Trump and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But one of the most fervent followers of these mid-air press conferences lives in the Vatican. Pope John Paul II had launched this tradition taken up by all his successors. And some have not escaped a communication crash. In 2009, on his way to Cameroon, Benedict XVI sparked a frown by claiming that the condom “made the problem worse” AIDS. The curse does not spare the sovereign pontiffs.