COP 27: brief exchange between Emmanuel Macron and Nicolas Maduro

Europe 1 with AFP 9:52 p.m., November 07, 2022

French Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro briefly exchanged on Monday in the corridors of COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, according to images given to AFP by the Venezuelan presidency, while Paris has still not officially recognized the leader. as president of the South American country.

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During the exchange of about one minute thirty seconds, the two men exchange pleasantries then the French president declares to Nicolas Maduro: "I would be happy if we could talk to each other longer, if we could engage in useful bilateral work. for the region".

A few moments later, he adds: "President, I have you after this sequence. I will call you back".

A "power of balance" 

However, in the wake of the United States, France never officially recognized the re-election of Nicolas Maduro to a second term in 2018, and qualified opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president.

But the weight of the latter has dropped considerably since then.

However, channels of dialogue have remained open between the two countries, and Emmanuel Macron recently repeated his desire to be a "power of balance".

He is due to welcome this week in Paris Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president in the history of Colombia, elected in August, who has renewed diplomatic relations with Venezuela after three years of rupture.

The latter intends to normalize relations between the two neighbors at 2,200 km of common border, after years of being ostracized from Caracas.

Caracas lives under a sanctions regime

The United States imposed a series of sanctions on Caracas in 2019, including an embargo on Venezuelan oil.

But President Joe Biden's administration announced a limited easing of some of those sanctions in May, as energy prices surged due to the war in Ukraine.

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During the discussion between the two presidents, Nicolas Maduro felt that "France should play a positive role" in Latin America.

In June, during the G7 summit in Germany, the French presidency, worrying about the energy crisis, had mentioned "resources elsewhere that must be explored", eyeing the productions of Iran and Venezuela, and considering that "Venezuelan oil must be able to be put back on the market". 

Nicolas Maduro immediately invited French companies, launching on television: "President Macron! Venezuela is ready to welcome all French companies who would like to come and produce oil and gas".