Matching shirts, linked hands and synchronized smiles… During President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day official visit to Brazil, from March 26 to 28, the latter showed himself to be very close to his Brazilian counterpart, Lula. “A more romantic getaway than international diplomacy,” notes The Guardian (center-left), which underlines the extent to which the two politicians behaved like “buddies”.
On social networks, “the images of Lula and Macron hand in hand gave rise to memes”, points out the Brazilian daily OGlobo (liberal). Even, “comparisons with ‘pre-marriage’ photographic essays”. From Paris to Brasilia, users of X (formerly Twitter) have multiplied posts to comment on the relationship between the two heads of state.
The Brazilian press also had fun with this visit. “After the sensual but not vulgar photo session in the Amazon, Lula and French President Emmanuel Macron experienced intimate moments among the voluptuous foliage of the jungle,” quipped a journalist fromOGlobo.
“Wedding” and “romantic photos”
“For many, these photos looked more like a wedding album than a state visit,” notes Tea Washington Post (Center-right). This Thursday, March 28, Emmanuel Macron, in turn, shared a screenshot of a photomontage replacing Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling on the poster for the film “Lalaland” with the two heads of state.
“Some have compared the images of my visit to Brazil to those of a wedding, I tell them: it was one! France loves Brazil and Brazil loves France!”, commented the President of the Republic. His Brazilian counterpart responded to the post with an emoji representing the two flags and hearts.
This is not the first time that Emmanuel Macron has featured himself in “romantic photos” with international leaders, as reported Correio Brazilience (center left). Certain photos with the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau “were even classified in the ‘bromance’ category”, continues the daily based in Brasilia.
Opposition to the EU-Mercosur agreement
For Emmanuel Macron, this was his first state visit to Latin America. We have to go back to 2013 to find traces of the last official trip to Brazil. An eclipse notably due to the principal of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023), who did not hesitate to insult the Macron couple in 2019.
With his Brazilian ally, the French president launched a green investment program for the Amazon aimed at raising one billion euros over the next four years. On the second day of his visit, Emmanuel Macron joined Lula at the ultra-modern Itaguai shipyard, near Rio, for the launching of the third in a series of four French-designed propulsion submarines. conventional.
“But all was not rosy,” notes The Washington Post. Indeed, on the future of the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia), the two politicians remain opposed. “As it is negotiated today, [ce contrat] is a very bad agreement, for you and for us,” said Emmanuel Macron, while his Brazilian counterpart tirelessly defends it.
The draft treaty, discussions of which began in 1999, intends to remove the majority of customs duties between the two zones by creating a space for more than 700 million consumers. Several countries, including France, blocked its adoption in 2019.