On Europe 1 Sunday, Jacques Attali recounted his first experience of the G7 summit in 1981. While he was special adviser to François Mitterrand, he attended meetings between the greatest world leaders.

Between naps, makeup and postcards, they are not all as diligent as they should be, he recalls with a smile.

The writer and economist Jacques Attali was Special Advisor to François Mitterrand from 1981 to 1991, a function which enabled him to solidify his friendly ties with the former president, who died in 1996. It was alongside the socialist leader that he took his first steps in politics and gained experience in the diplomatic arena.

Appreciating the evolution of international relations since the end of the Cold War, Jacques Attali delivered on Sunday at the microphone of Europe 1 an unusual anecdote on the first G7 summit, bringing together the leaders of the greatest world powers, in which he participated in 1981 .

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"I was in the room, I can still see seven heads of state around the table."

François Mitterrand, newly elected President of the Republic is also taking part in his first G7 summit, taking place in July in Montebello, Canada.

Facing him, says Jacques Attali, US President Ronald Reagan takes the floor to defend his vision of aid to developing countries: "He explains that the best way to help the countries of the South is to give them objects that we no longer want, no longer use. "

The former actor, leader of the Republican Party, even explains that he gave the used garden hoses from his house to Guatemalan peasants.

Lethargy

This somewhat wobbly plan of the US president to remedy the world's development problems does not seem to elicit unconditional support from his counterparts.

But in addition to their lack of enthusiasm, it is their relative lethargy that surprises the young diplomatic adviser.

Looking at world leaders one by one, he notes: "I see Madame Thatcher powdering herself. The Japanese Prime Minister [Zenko Suzuki] literally sleeping… or at least with his eyes closed and his mouth open. And Trudeau senior [ Pierre] arranging the eyelet in his buttonhole. "

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François Mitterrand does not count either among the good pupils: "[He was] filling postcards", loose Jacques Attali, half-amused, half-desperate.

These first experiences confront him with the slowness of international negotiations and the small advances, obtained through conviction.

"It gave me a pretty good idea of ​​what international trade coffee is," he concludes with a smile.