The geopolitical dive proves to be as unprecedented as it is explosive. For six months, the journalist Guy Lagache was authorized to pose his camera in the heart of the diplomatic cell of the Elysée, while a war broke out in Europe. On June 30, on France 2, the French will be able to attend for the first time in their history the private discussions between their president and his foreign counterparts, their jokes and their frank shouting matches. The result of this documentary, A president, Europe and the war, reveals itself as high as the access: historical.
“I do my best to push the Ukrainians, you know that”
One of the sequences takes place on February 20, during a call between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Poutine. The exchange between the two men quickly turns into a muscular confrontation. “Our dear colleague Zelensky is doing nothing, he is lying to you,” says the Russian president, before being corrected by the Frenchman, who recites paragraphs from the Minsk agreements to him. “I don’t know where your lawyer learned the law, but it’s not the separatists who are going to make the law in a democratic country”, asserts Macron. Later, he continues: “I do my best to push the Ukrainians, you know that.” “I know it,” Putin replies.
Hardly believable moment, and a sign of obvious complicity between the two heads of state, the master of the Kremlin punctuates the conversation with jokes, promising his French counterpart to work on diplomatic solutions, when he intended to “go play hockey”: “You know I’m calling you from the gym!” Macron and Putin end their exchange with a burst of laughter, when the latter lets go, in French with a strong Russian accent: “Thank you, Mr. President.” Barely four days later, thousands of Russian soldiers descend on Ukraine.
These sequences are not likely to improve the image of the French president in Europe. Despite betrayals, lies and war crimes, Macron remains faithful to his desire to maintain a dialogue with Russia, essential according to him to put an end to the conflict. “We have to set a course, which for us is that of a negotiated peace”, points out one of his close advisers. His regular exchanges with Putin (21 phone calls since December) and his little phrases on the need to avoid “the humiliation of Russia” move the most Eastern Europeans, on the front line against Russia. “Who imagines negotiating with Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot? dropped Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. We do not discuss with criminals, we fight them.”
An increasingly pronounced European divide
According to a study by the European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR) published on June 15, the gap continues to widen between Europeans who favor “peace” in Ukraine and those who give priority to “justice”. The Franco-German couple leads this first camp, in which the majority of Western Europe is located, while the second has the Balts and the Poles as figureheads.
“So far, the unity of Europeans has surprised Putin and the Europeans themselves, but major problems are looming, underlines Mark Leonard, director of the ECFR and co-author of the study. Inflation, refugees and fear of nuclear escalation are all potentially divisive, but the Great Schism separates those who want to end the war as soon as possible and those who want to punish Russia. peace’ and this ‘justice camp’ if not managed properly, it could create as much damage as that between creditors and debtors during the euro crisis.”
Paris and Berlin find themselves in the sights of the sling. “There was a very strong expectation of political leadership from France and Germany, but also of economic and military investment to lead European action in Ukraine, points out Yann Wernert, specialist in Franco-German relations at the Jacques Delors Center in Berlin. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe did not find them up to par.”
After four months of war, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz ended up deeming it urgent to go in person to kyiv on June 16, alongside the Italian Mario Draghi and the Romanian Klaus Iohannis. The primary objective of this visit was to send a message of unity to the European family. Mission accomplished, with Volodymyr Zelensky pictured.
But this trip was above all intended to be political, and there too the Franco-German duo worked to put the pieces back together. “The presence of the Romanian president, to represent the countries of central and eastern Europe and the support for Ukraine’s EU accession process constitute outstretched hands to overcome these European divisions”, believes Yann Wernert. It remains to be seen whether the “justice” camp will want to take this hand.