Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil were reported Friday to have spoken on the telephone with Veenezuela's Nicolás Maduro to persuade him to resume talks with the opposition after being inaugurated for a third consecutive six-year term following the controversial July 28, 2024, elections.
A politically shaken France has been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service from “Aa2” to “Aa3” and the country's long-term outlook went from “stable” to “negative” amid the ongoing “fragmentation” following the appointment of Prime Minister François Bayrou.
Momentum is building up in Montevideo as the presence of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen seems to herald the imminent signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) as Brussels needs to halt China's commercial expansion in the region while Donald Trump's return to the White House looms over.
French President Emmanuel Macron told his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei once again during their meeting Sunday at Casa Rosada that his country would not sign the European Union (EU)-Southern Common Market (Mercosur) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) “as is.”
French President Emmanuel Macron will be making state visits to Argentina and Chile as part of his South American tour to attend the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, it was confirmed in diplomatic circles. Macron will first get together with his Argentine colleague Javier Milei to discuss climate change and other bilateral issues between Nov. 16 and 17. Then, he will head for Brazil's gathering of world leaders on Nov. 18 and 19. And then he will travel to Santiago for talks with Gabriel Boric Font.
French Agriculture minister, Annie Genevard has declared to her country’s media that Paris is trying to convince “maximum number of countries”, such as Belgium, Bulgaria, Austria, Ireland and “even maybe Italy” to set up a veto system to impede the signing of a trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, the South American trade group.
By Gwynne Dyer - With the sole exception of the 50 people on Pitcairn Island, the United Kingdom (once known as the British Empire) liquidated its holdings in the Pacific Ocean long ago. France, by contrast, has a half million citizens in the Pacific (and another 2 million living in other bits of its former empire on islands in all the world’s major oceans).
The 73-year-old Barnier has served four times as a cabinet minister and as the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator. On July 16, Macron accepted Gabriel Attal's resignation but asked him to stay in office on a caretaker basis until a replacement could be found.
A joint statement from the leaders of United Kingdom, Germany and France called for an immediate end to fighting Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages and the prevention of further escalation, especially on the part of Iran and its allies.
Presidents Javier Milei of Argentina and Emmanuel Macron of France got together Friday at the Elysee Palace ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to discuss ongoing world affairs and bilateral issues. It is the South American leader's 12th trip abroad since his inauguration on Dec. 10, 2023.