Emmanuel Macron visiting Brazil, diplomatic reunion after years of tension

After Guyana, French President Emmanuel Macron is heading to neighboring Brazil for a three-day visit. This will be the first bilateral visit to Brazil and even Latin America. The French president will arrive on Tuesday March 26 afternoon for a first stop in Belém, in the Amazon, then will go to Rio, Sao Paulo and the capital Brasilia. A real journey through this giant of Latin America to mark the Franco-Brazilian reunion after the diplomatic tensions of the Bolsonaro years.

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet his Brazilian counterpart Lula on March 26, 2024 in Brazil. © Gonzalo Fuentes, Adriano Machado / REUTERS / RFI Montage

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To welcome his French host, Brazilian President Lula pulls out all the stops. Three meetings are planned in three days, in three different cities – under the rare protocol of a state visit. When the French president arrives from

Guyana

, the two leaders will meet in Belém, near the mouth of the Amazon River, to visit a cocoa factory and speak with indigenous leaders.

Emmanuel Macron will meet the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara and he will meet representatives of the Xingu and Yanomami peoples in particular.

At the microphone of

Lucia Muzell

from the Brazilian editorial staff of RFI

, the minister recalls that France and Europe have a role to play in preserving the rights of these communities known for their sustainable management of the forest. 

To protect Brazil's forests, we must protect the rights of indigenous peoples and the lives of those who live in the forest.

00:51

Sonia Guajajara, Minister of Indigenous Peoples

RFI

“

Lula wants to show Emmanuel Macron the complexity of the Amazon, which is not only a vast tropical forest, but also a place where 25 million people live

,” the highest Brazilian diplomat declared to the press on Friday March 22 for Europe and North America, Maria Luisa Escorel.

A “

Franco-Brazilian moment

”

In Paris, there is talk of a “

Franco-Brazilian moment

” even if there is no shortage of contentious issues: concerning Ukraine first, Lula still refuses to take sides against Russia or the ratification of the trade agreement between the

European Union

and

Mercosur

which is suspended in particular because of France's blockade. Officially, the latter will not be on the agenda because it is not a bilateral issue, Brazilian and French officials said.

Also read: Why the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union is fueling the anger of farmers

In Paris, we recognize these differences, but this should not prevent us from moving forward together in other areas. In any case, this is the message that the French president wishes to convey during his visit. The two countries want to intensify their cooperation in the fight against deforestation, the reduction of fossil fuels and the ecological transition.

Common fight against climate and poverty

Lula and Emmanuel Macron also share the conviction that the fight against the climate goes hand in hand with the fight against poverty. A large delegation of businessmen accompanies the French president who wishes to take advantage of the trip to ask Brazilian companies to invest more in his country. 

Relations between France and Brazil reached a new low in 2019 after Emmanuel Macron's criticism of

then-President Jair Bolsonaro

linked to monster fires in the Amazon. The Brazilian president had accused his French counterpart and other G7 countries of treating Brazil like “

 a colony

”.

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