Almost two hours of speeches to reconnect with an annual exercise that the Covid had prevented in recent years. Emmanuel Macron addressed this Thursday morning to the ambassadors who represent France in the world. The opportunity for the president to draw the roadmap of French diplomacy.
A speech by Emmanuel Macron which opened two days of seminar and, according to the news, largely dominated by the war in Ukraine and its consequences. ” Failover », « rupture », it is with these very strong words that the French president describes the state of the world. A world of crises: covid, climate and of course the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “A war of annexation at our doorstep, waged by a power endowed [de l’arme nucléaire] and member of the UN Security Council”, according to Emmanuel Macron.
… A war of annexation on our doorstep, led by an endowed power, a permanent member of the Security Council, backed by a hybrid war deployed on a global scale, and a historical deconstruction of the frameworks that made it possible to regulate globalization and relations between nations, that’s the war in Ukraine. And so, I say it here with great force because it is a profound change for our country and our diplomacy. The time when we could hope to reap the dividends of peace is over, and I think for a long time, because we will have to defend it and rebuild it. The time when we thought we could enjoy our freedoms without paying the price is over, we must cherish our freedom and our values, but we will have to defend them, fight for them, and accept all the consequences that this implies when others are fighting on our behalf for it, which is exactly what is happening today in Ukraine. And the time when the international order, defined after the Second World War, consolidated at the end of the Cold War, was at the heart of relations between nations has been undermined, we must rebuild it…
Emmanuel Macron: the war in Ukraine is “a rupture”
For the French president, this rupture entails a profound change for French diplomacy. He calls for a “combat” diplomacy. According to Emmanuel Macron, France must defend its independence and its influence in the world. It must work on partnerships and it must work on multilateralism. And it must act on new grounds such as that of the “struggle of stories”: propaganda, influence and counter-influence on social networks…
More responsive diplomats on social media
The Head of State thus called for “taking on a strategy of influence and influence for France”, urged “better use of the France Médias Monde network, which is absolutely key, which must be a strength for us”. . France Médias Monde brings together the news channel France 24 and radio RFI.
Our country is often attacked. And it is attacked in public opinion, by social networks and by manipulation. And the African continent is the best laboratory for this. By all that I have just said, I want the undercurrents to be undermined. It’s because we will have a real partnership policy that goes through culture, sport that promotes our diasporas. We will remove the underlying Russian, Chinese or Turkish narrative which explains to them that France is a country which is doing neo-colonization and which is setting up its army on their soil. We sometimes have to break the elements that we would leave them to use.
Emmanuel Macron: “We must be much more aggressive and mobilized” on information warfare
Emmanuel Macron urged French diplomats to be “more reactive” on social networks to better respond to the attacks that France is undergoing towards public opinion, particularly in Africa: France has in particular been targeted by disinformation campaigns in Mali, against a backdrop of diplomatic tensions between Paris and Bamako. A lot of false information had thus circulated there in a viral way in 2021, relating to the supposed actions of French troops in the country.
► Read also : Misinformation fuels tensions between France and Mali
(and with agencies)