“There are agreements, there are disagreements”: Emmanuel Macron accepts Xi Jinping’s invitation to France

The day after Xi Jinping’s visit, Emmanuel Macron still accepts his choice. On the sidelines of the May 8 celebrations, the President this Wednesday rejected accusations of complacency after meeting with his Chinese counterpart, invited to France on Monday and Tuesday. He spoke about their exchanges when he spoke for a few minutes with Yves de Gaulle, the grandson of General de Gaulle, to whom the president paid tribute on this day of celebration of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany.

“There are agreements, disagreements (…). Today people would like us to conduct diplomacy only with people who think like us. In fact, there is no point in diplomacy in this,” said the head of state, as quoted by BFMTV. “It was very touching to see him here,” he continued, assuring that his Chinese counterpart is “very attached to this relationship” between Paris and Beijing.

“Get rid of habits and preconceived ideas”

Emmanuel Macron also considered that this two-day visit, marked, in particular, by a visit to the Pyrenees and the Tourmalet Pass, has a special historical resonance. Exactly 60 years ago, General de Gaulle himself, the then president of the republic, much to the disappointment of Washington, took the initiative to approach Beijing and establish diplomatic relations, recognizing Mao’s China.

“You, of course, remember, this was a choice that aroused the enmity of our allies. At times it was almost hysterical,” recalled Yves de Gaulle, who is still quoted by the site. “People forget that sometimes we do great things by breaking habits and preconceived ideas. And after everyone screamed, everyone followed him. Fortunately, he did it earlier, otherwise… We would have been trapped in this story. This is the only generation that could do this,” the president added.

The Chinese president’s ceremonial reception has particularly outraged the French Uyghur community, while more than a million Uyghurs or members of other ethnic groups, mostly Muslims, have been interned in “re-education” “camps” in China, where human rights violations have been reported by Western studies and NGOs. a bunch of. Socialist candidate for the June European elections Raphael Glucksmann also criticized the “friendly tone” of the official visit. “The person who deports the Uighurs, who represses the people of Hong Kong and Tibet, is not our friend,” he criticized RTL.

In response, the Elysee Palace confirmed that Emmanuel Macron, who has established a “special relationship” with his colleague, discussed human rights issues with him, in particular “several isolated cases.” “We talk about this among ourselves and check the results, striving for efficiency,” the French president said on Tuesday, explaining that he strives for “closeness (…) between the two leaders in order to have a dialogue that is both friendly and friendly.” but also very frank.” Emmanuel Macron made it clear even before Xi Jinping’s arrival that he prefers to discuss these sensitive issues “behind closed doors.”