Emmanuel Macron, the great absentee of the UN General Assembly

French President Emmanuel Macron has chosen not to visit New York this year, even renouncing a videotaped speech at the end of last week on September 21, 2021. Gonzalo Fuentes Pool / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

He had indicated that he would send a recorded speech, then he decided to send his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian.

We have to go back to 2005, 17 years ago, to find the last time a president did not come to represent France at the UN and was replaced.

At the time, Dominique de Villepin, then Prime Minister, replaced Jacques Chirac, who was recovering.

Advertising

Read more

From our correspondent in New York

,

Carrie Nooten

The Quai d'Orsay and the Élysée may well assure that the absence of Emmanuel Macron is in no way a consequence of the affair of the submarines, if this were true it would be a sacred telescoping of agendas and events that would have created these circumstances.

Here in New York, many are wondering where the French president is, champion of multilateralism, in the midst of a geopolitical crisis to be resolved.

Besides the British and Australian Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Scott Morrison have been very present since September 20 in the UN media space.

► To read also: The debates of the UN General Assembly begin in a "hybrid" format

Many questions

Another question: why did the French President send his Minister of Foreign Affairs in his place, the schedule of speeches being governed by the protocol order, France therefore finds itself speaking on the last day instead of the first!

Other critics finally consider it a shame to leave the spotlight on the United States and China: in a little while, all eyes will be on the American or the Chinese path - Emmanuel Macron would certainly have had more interest in doing the promotion of this third way this September 21 live from New York.

► See also: UN General Assembly: President Xi Jinping finally at the podium, but on video

Newsletter

Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• France

• Emmanuel Macron

• UN