2024 was a year of diplomatic brilliance and domestic political chaos for French President Emmanuel Macron. In less than 12 months, four prime ministers changed in France. Nine days into the year, the unpopular Elisabeth Borne ceded the prime ministership to Gabriel Attal - the youngest prime minister in the history of the Fifth French Republic. He ceded the position in September to Michel Barnier - the oldest prime minister in the history of the Fifth French Republic. Who in turn gave up his post on December 13 to his peer François Bayrou after only three months in power, and thus his government became the shortest-lived in modern French history, recall Agence France-Presse and "France 24".
The crisis was caused by the outcome of the European elections in France in June. Then the far-right "National Rally" won, and Macron's bloc remained in second place by a fairly large margin. The president surprisingly dissolved the lower house of parliament and scheduled early elections. In the first round, the far-right then won again. In the second round of the parliamentary elections, a front against the far-right, composed of the united left and the Macronists and their centrist allies, displaced "National Rally" from first to third place. But then the united left surprisingly climbed to first position, and Macron's camp remained in second place. Thus, the lower house of parliament was fragmented into three blocs, none of which had an absolute majority. And Macron then refused to nominate the United Left candidate for prime minister, Lucie Castet, arguing that she would not be supported by the right in the French parliament and that the country would not emerge from the political crisis. After three months, Michel Barnier's government failed to gain popularity and was ousted by a vote of no confidence over the budget legislation for next year.
The nomination of Bayrou as yet another new prime minister also did not go smoothly. Macron held consultations with a number of parties, excluding the far right and the radical left. Until recently, French media claimed that he did not want to nominate Bayrou and that he had offered the post to former Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who refused because he was too old. In the end, Macron was forced to choose the centrist Bayrou when he threatened to withdraw his party from the presidential parliamentary bloc if he was not nominated, BFM television noted. Bayrou also has legal problems. An appeal case is due to be opened against him next year on charges of embezzling European funds in the same scheme that is being tried against far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The prosecutor's office had requested a 30-month suspended sentence for Bayrou, a fine of 70,000 euros and a three-year ban on him holding elected office for causing damage to the European Parliament in the amount of 293,000 euros, BFM recalls. All this also portends a short-lived government for Bayrou. If the predictions come true, Macron will break the record for the most prime ministers during his presidential terms. The record is currently held by François Mitterrand, who had 7 prime ministers during his 14 years in power. In contrast, Macron's terms are 5 years long, and he still has two and a half years left in his second term. So far, the post of prime minister under Macron has been held by Edouard Philippe, Jean Castex, Elisabeth Born, Gabriel Attal, Michel Barnier before Bayrou arrived.
And while France is trying to emerge from the political crisis, combined with financial problems arising from a budget deficit of about 6 percent of GDP, for which the European Commission has initiated a procedure against it since the summer, which could lead to hefty fines, Macron nevertheless indulged in active diplomacy on all possible fronts and there was no hot file on which his opinion would not be heard this year.
First of all, the French head of state managed to turn several events hosted by France in 2024 into glamorous summits. In the summer, hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games attracted a number of leaders to Paris, with whom Macron held bilateral meetings. Indeed, the Olympic opening ceremony in the heart of the capital drew international criticism from religious and conservative circles for some scenes perceived as too liberal or blasphemous, but it nevertheless remains an unprecedented event, combining glamour, innovation and diplomacy.
In early October, the 19th Summit of the Francophonie Summit was held at the Grand Palais exhibition center in Paris and at the Villers-Coutret Palace, which has been home to the International City of the French Language since last year. Of the 88 member countries of the International Organization of the Francophone, the leaders of about 50 of them attended the forum, and a number of bilateral summits were held on the sidelines of the forum. This was the organization's first summit in 33 years in the country where its headquarters are located, notes Agence France-Presse. The forum was held against the backdrop of a series of global crises that were discussed by Francophone leaders.
The ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy in June also turned into a diplomatic event, Agence France-Presse recalls.
On the weekend of December 7 and 8, 2,500 distinguished guests, including leaders and representatives of about 50 countries, came to Paris to attend the inauguration of the fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The event once again provided an opportunity for multifaceted bilateral diplomacy. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni used the occasion to hold talks with US President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who will be part of Trump's future administration. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, offering Vienna to host possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. But Macron's real diplomatic achievement came from the 35-minute meeting he arranged between Zelensky and Trump at the Elysee Palace, which he attended in person. Zelensky described the meeting as good and fruitful, and Macron said that efforts to achieve peace and security in Ukraine would continue. The day after the meeting, while still in Paris, Trump called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and for negotiations to reach an agreement to end "this madness," Agence France-Presse recalls. A few days later, Zelensky expressed his deep gratitude to Trump for his strong determination to end the war, while in an interview with the French publication Paris Match Trump reiterated that "the priority is to resolve the Ukraine-Russia issue because both sides are suffering unimaginable human losses." In September, Macron returned to the annual session of the UN General Assembly after missing the event last year due to a state visit to France by Britain's King Charles III. Speaking at the UN, Macron warned that humanity was becoming increasingly fragmented, while circumstances demanded common responses to the world's many crises. The French leader called for help in Ukraine to find a just peace, for an end to the conflict in Gaza, and for the many other conflicts around the world, all of which called into question the UN's ability to hold member states to account. Macron also called for a new relationship with Africa and supported the idea of expanding the UN Security Council with Germany, Japan, India and Brazil and two African countries as permanent members, as well as expanding the number of non-permanent members of this body, and also changing its working methods.
Macron was among the leaders whose speeches attracted international attention during the G7 summits (US, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Canada and Japan) in June in Borgo Ignazia, Italy, and the G9 (France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, Croatia and Slovenia) in Paphos, Cyprus in October.
During the G20 summit (US, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Canada, South Africa, France, Italy, UK, Germany, China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia and the EU) in mid-November in Rio de Jean-Claude Macron sharply criticized the "one world government" that is not functioning and called for a reform of the G20 so that it is not just a leadership format that publishes statements that no one reads. To this end, Macron proposed that the current rotating G20 chairman - Brazil - and the rotating chairman next year - South Africa - form a high-level working group to propose a roadmap for reforming the G20.
During the year, Macron was a consistently heard voice at various EU summits, including the Ukraine summit in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, and the two summits of the European Political Community (EPC), initiated by Macron himself - at Blenheim Palace in the UK in July and Budapest, Hungary in November.
The topic of the future of the EU in a world facing many challenges, in which the division into blocs seems to be returning and in which the main competition is between the United States and China, while the European Union seems to be lagging behind both economic powers in many respects, was touched upon by Macron in two of his landmark speeches that he delivered during the year. At the EPO summit in Budapest, held the day after Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, Macron stressed that Europeans should not delegate their security to the Americans and should defend their interests more strongly against both the United States and China, reported Agence France-Presse. “For us Europeans, this is a decisive moment in history. The main question that faces us is whether we want history to be written by others or do we want to write history? I think we have the power to write it,“ Macron said. He also expressed support for the European Commission’s stated ambitions for broad reforms to bring Europe into line with the US and China in terms of economic growth, technological advancements and strategic autonomy. Similar recommendations were contained in reports by two former Italian prime ministers – Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, commissioned by Brussels, which Macron frequently referred to throughout the year.
Half a year before the Budapest speech, on 25 April Macron delivered a speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris on the future of Europe. In it, he recalled that in a context marked by multiple and unprecedented crises such as Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic or the return of war to the European continent, a sovereign, united and democratic Europe has managed to cope, asserting its solidarity and unity, as well as its ability to make decisions in line with its own interests. But Macron noted that, although Europe has managed to reduce dependencies and achieve greater sovereignty in the fields of energy, defense, digital technologies, health, food, research and innovation, and although it has also managed to prepare for a green and digital transition, by setting itself ambitious goals, including carbon neutrality by 2050, Europe must do more in geopolitical terms, as well as in the field of security in the face of a world in which widespread rearmament is taking place. Europe must also change its economic model, which risks being inadequate in the face of global competition. "In addition, today the democratic, humanistic and liberal model of Europe is being questioned," Macron also warned, calling for action against this threat. "We must soberly realize that our Europe, today, is mortal. It can die. It can die and that depends solely on our choices. These choices that we are about to make now“, Macron said then.
A few days ago, on December 12, Macron visited Poland, which takes over the rotating presidency of the EU for 6 months from January 1. In Warsaw, the French president once again noted that the EU has insufficient ambitions in diverse areas, starting from new technologies and ending with defense, passing through the ecological transition, reported Agence France-Presse. As an example of sufficient ambitions, Macron pointed to the United States and China and called for a new impetus for Europe and for accelerating the implementation of the European economic and technological agenda, as well as for strengthening European investments in the field of security and defense and for developing an industrial European defense base that would reduce Europe's strategic dependence on the United States.
To emphasize that he remains a strong voice in the EU, in which even the biggest “breakaway“ of European unity is being listened to, Macron twice this year - in June and in October - received at the Elysee Palace Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU until the end of the year and whose new political project "Patriots for Europe" became the third largest parliamentary group in the tenth EP after the Eurovote, recall RFI and "Euronews".
Macron was also among the first EU leaders to receive in Paris the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the new EU diplomat Kaia Kallas.
On hot European issues, Macron remained a staunch supporter of Ukraine throughout the year. He constantly stressed that support for Ukraine should be an absolute priority for the EU and NATO at a time when there are concerns that the Trump administration may reduce American support for Kiev. He warned that peace in Ukraine cannot be achieved to the detriment of the Ukrainians, that they are the ones who must decide under what circumstances they want to make peace and when to start negotiations for it. During their visit to Warsaw on December 12, Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also discussed the possible deployment of a European military contingent in Ukraine, which would act as a kind of peacekeeping force there to preserve the country's sovereignty after a possible ceasefire comes into force. These discussions took place against the backdrop of a joint statement by the foreign ministers of six European NATO countries – France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK - and the EU's top diplomat Kaia Kallas - said that Ukraine's path to Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO, is irreversible and that there can be no peace talks in Ukraine without the participation of Ukrainians and Europeans alongside them, Agence France-Presse reported.
Two French foreign ministers - Stephane Séjournais and Jean-Noël Barrot - visited Kiev twice this year to express Paris's unwavering support for Ukraine. Macron was also one of the European leaders to whom Zelensky first presented his "Plan for Victory" against Russia, before officially announcing it in Brussels to European leaders and NATO.
Regarding the peace talks in Ukraine, on his way to the G20 in Rio de Janeiro, Macron stressed that Putin does not want peace and is not ready to negotiate. As for a direct conversation with Putin, similar to the recent phone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Russian leader, Macron said that every leader is completely free to take initiatives and that he has never ruled out resuming talks with the Kremlin, but will do so in the appropriate context and conditions, Agence France-Presse reported.
Macron pleaded for a stronger Europe in the field of defense and security in early December in a phone call with the leaders of Sweden and Finland, and the topic will be discussed during a mini-summit of right-wing leaders in Lapland on December 21 and 22. During the year, the Netherlands showed interest in two military cooperation projects in which France also participates. The first is for a new-generation battle tank, on which France is working with Germany. The second is for the development of missiles with a range of several hundred kilometers for deep-sea strikes, which was initiated this summer by France, Germany, Italy, Poland and was later joined by Sweden and the UK.
In 2024, Macron also repeatedly expressed support for the pro-European ambitions of Georgia and Moldova against the backdrop of the growing influence of pro-Russian forces in these two Eastern European countries. Regarding Georgia, Macron called in a December 11 phone call with pro-Russian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is said to be pulling the strings in Tbilisi, for the release of all detained pro-European protesters and condemned the violence of law enforcement agencies against peaceful demonstrators and journalists in Georgia. Several times in the past two months, France, Germany and Poland have issued joint statements at the level of presidents and foreign ministers on Georgia, threats to its pro-European course and transparency in the investigation of reports of irregularities during the parliamentary elections.
Macron has also expressed during the year France's determination to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia, as well as the aspirations of the Armenian people for peace and democracy. The two countries have recently developed their defense ties, with the French military training Armenian servicemen and Yerevan purchasing French air defense systems, which in turn angered Armenia's regional adversary - Azerbaijan. Tensions along the Paris-Baku axis escalated when, at the COP 29 climate conference in the Azerbaijani capital, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev criticized France's "colonial history" and accused "Macron's regime" of in crimes in the French overseas territories. As a result, the French Minister of the Ecological Transition, Agnes Pannier-Renache, refused to go to the conference in Baku, and the Azerbaijani ambassador in Paris was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry. In parallel, the French ambassador in Baku was summoned to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry over the boycott announced by Paris at the climate forum. The EU has shown support for France in this dispute.
Within the EU itself, Macron met three times this year with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in an attempt to restart the Franco-German engine, which had stalled due to bilateral disagreements, both in the trade and economic spheres and in the area of achieving European strategic autonomy. However, these attempts to restart in the second half of the year were undertaken against the backdrop of the weakened domestic political positions of the leaders of the Franco-German tandem, which led many analysts to speak of a vacuum in European leadership.
Macron also made efforts ahead of the year to give new impetus to France's relations with Britain, where, after 14 years of Conservative rule, Keir Starmer's Labour came to power in July. During a meeting between Macron and Starmer in Paris in mid-November to mark the 106th anniversary of the end of World War I and the 120th anniversary of the Franco-British Entente, the two leaders reiterated their commitment to continue efforts to restore peace in the Middle East and to support Ukraine. They also pledged to continue cooperation in the fight against migrant smuggling. The bilateral understanding between Paris and London was also highlighted by Queen Camilla's visit to Paris on December 4, where she, together with French First Lady Brigitte Macron, presented the joint Franco-British literary prize "Entente Literaire", established a year ago.
On the other hot file - the conflict in the Middle East, Macron's France played a mediating role in the ceasefire between the Lebanese Shiite movement "Hezbollah" and Israel in Lebanon, putting at risk not only Lebanese civilians but also the UN force, which also includes about 700 French soldiers. At the same time, Macron's envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has visited Beirut several times in an attempt to resolve the Lebanese political crisis, an effort coordinated with the United States, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and has led to the Lebanese parliament scheduling a vote on a new Lebanese president for January 9 next year. Since the term of the current head of state, Michel Aoun, expired in October 2022, Lebanese lawmakers have failed to elect a new Lebanese leader, but now Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati assures that the country is ready to turn a new page in this direction.
France also supports efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging war with the radical Palestinian group “Hamas“. But on this issue, the tone between Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated several times during the year. In October, Macron called for an end to the arms supply that continues the fighting in Gaza. A week later, at a closed meeting of the French government, Macron said that Netanyahu should not forget that Israel was created by a UN resolution in 1947, which provided for the partition of Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. Israel was created according to a UN plan, but the Palestinians and Arab states did not agree with this plan, which led to the Israeli-Arab war in 1948-1949, recalls Agence France-Presse. And Macron's words about the UN's role in the creation of Israel, intended only for his ministers, eventually leaked to the media and reached Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister replied to Macron that it was not a UN resolution that created the Jewish state, but rather the victory in the war of independence, in which blood was shed by Jewish heroes, many of whom survived the Holocaust and, in particular, the Vichy regime in France. Two incidents between French gendarmes and Israeli police officers at one of the four sites belonging to France in Jerusalem also contributed to the escalation of tensions. But eventually, tensions calmed down and the French Foreign Ministry spoke of Netanyahu's immunity when the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him on November 21 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, Agence France-Presse recalls. According to Paris, the immunity stems from the fact that Netanyahu is the leader of a country that has not initialed the treaty establishing the ICC, but at the same time, Paris has never raised the issue of immunity for Putin, against whom there is also an arrest warrant issued by the ICC and whose country has also not initialed the treaty establishing the tribunal, notes Agence France-Presse. In parallel with all this, in mid-November, French-Israeli far-right figures organized an event in Paris that aroused the anger of pro-Palestinian activists. Moreover, the event was originally planned to include Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is calling for the annexation of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank next year and who last year rejected the existence of Palestinians as a people, which was criticized by Paris. During the year, Macron's France spoke out against anti-Semitism around the world, and the president attended a high-stakes soccer match between France and Israel in Paris, which was expected to be marred by anti-Semitic incidents following similar incidents against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam. In this way, Macron wanted to demonstrate his support for Israel against anti-Semitism despite moments of bilateral tension.
Regarding another flashpoint in the Middle East - Iran, Macron's France has consistently expressed concern over the escalation of Iranian uranium enrichment activities throughout the year. As for the hot spot of Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in a lightning offensive by Syrian rebels on December 7, Macron welcomed the end of a barbaric state and paid tribute to the Syrian people for their courage, but also warned that changes in Syria should not lead to the revival of terrorist movements that could destabilize the region, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported. At the same time, French authorities froze the process of granting asylum to Syrian refugees, the European Newsroom recalls.
During the year, Macron was brilliantly welcomed in several countries. Already in January, he received a maharaja-like reception in India, where he was the guest of honor at the country's independence parade, French media recall.
In October, King Mohammed VI of Morocco personally came to the airport to welcome Macron. The two leaders signed a declaration in which they committed to working to strengthen the exceptional bilateral partnership. Macron invited the Moroccan monarch to visit France next year to celebrate together the 70th anniversary of Morocco's independence from France. During Macron's state visit to Morocco, 40 cooperation agreements worth a total of over $10 billion were signed. The two countries also strengthened their partnership in the area of illegal migration. Migration was one of the reasons for straining bilateral relations a few years ago, when France decided to halve the number of French visas issued to Moroccans in order to force the Moroccan monarchy to take back more of its citizens who have been denied asylum on French territory. The bilateral rapprochement also became possible after Macron announced in July that he would find a solution to the problem of Western Sahara within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty. Macron reiterated this position in a speech to the Moroccan parliament during his visit to Morocco.
The rapprochement in the Maghreb between Morocco and France, however, became the backdrop for the strained relations between France and Algeria. The latter was contributed not only by Macron's position on Western Sahara, which did not please Algeria, which supports the “Polisario Front“, which insists on the independence of this territory. In November, the French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who had participated in the past in pro-democracy Algerian protests, criticized Algerian Islamists in his works and spoke out against the transformation of Islam into a tool for achieving political goals, was arrested in Algiers upon his arrival from France. Sansal was detained under an article of the Algerian penal code for acts against state security.
In early December, during another episode of the internal political crisis in France, Macron paid a state visit to Saudi Arabia, and the two countries raised their bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership. During this visit, Macron was accompanied by about fifty heads of large French companies, startups and defense industry companies. The goal of the visit was a comprehensive partnership in all sectors of the future, from the energy transition to artificial intelligence, passing through defense, mobility, urban planning and culture. Back in 2018 France and Saudi Arabia have signed a 10-year contract worth $20 billion for the development of the Saudi oasis of Al Ullah, with the project envisioning the creation of an archaeological, tourist and cultural complex with museums and hotels, modern and fast transport and its own “Pompidou Centre“ on an area the size of Belgium, where contemporary Arab artists will exhibit their works, recalls Agence France-Presse.
In 2024, Macron did not forget about deepening ties with the Americas. He used his visit to New York for the UN General Assembly session to meet with high-ranking American financiers and assure them that his country remains attractive to foreign investment. After attending the annual session of the UN General Assembly, Macron also visited Canada, which will hold the rotating presidency of the G7 next year.
In the spring, Macron received a warm welcome in Brazil from his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The climate of unanimity, harmony, and cooperation that emerged between the two leaders at the time was so warm that the media talked about a bromance between Macron and Lula despite their disagreements over Russia and its war in Ukraine. Macron returned to Brazil for the G20 summit. There, he also met with the leaders of Mexico and Colombia, Claudia Schönbaum and Gustavo Petro. Before and after the G20 forum in Rio, he visited Argentina and Chile, respectively. The first of these two visits presented Macron as a leader who communicates with everyone, even with leaders with whom he disagrees on some international issues and the way of government. Argentine President Javier Milley has been described as a deeply conservative figure, and he and his inner circle have been accused of trying to downplay the military's role in crimes during the country's 1976-83 military dictatorship.
During their visit to Chile, Macron and his Chilean counterpart Gabriel Boric welcomed a trade agreement between the EU and the Latin American country that takes into account the interests of both countries. Macron praised Boric's multilateral approach and expressed hope that France could partner with Chile in developing local natural resource deposits, including copper and lithium. Macron and Boric also called for joint efforts to combat climate change and protect Antarctica and the oceans.
During the year, Macron did not forget the crisis in Venezuela, calling for an end to the pressure, threats and arrests of opposition figures. And during his tour of Latin America, he was caught in the media criticizing the current transitional Haitian authorities for being responsible for the “murder of Haiti”, by allowing drug trafficking to flourish and the removal of the country's former prime minister.
The G20 summit in Rio was an opportunity for Macron to focus on relations with China. He held a conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two talked mostly about Russia and Ukraine, with Macron urging the Chinese leader to use all his influence, pressure and negotiating skills to get Russia to stop its attacks on Ukraine. Xi Jinping visited France in May, and Macron was in China in the spring of last year, where he was welcomed like a superstar. Now he has mentioned a new visit to China next year.
In 2024, Macron also pursued the course of establishing a new type of partnership with African countries that are not burdened by the liabilities of France's colonial past. In November, the French leader received the presidents of Ghana and Nigeria, Nana Akufo-Addo and Bola Tinubu, in Paris. These visits were part of Macron's efforts since 2017 to create new forms of cooperation between France and Africa, where China, Russia, Turkey and the United States are increasing their influence. However, Macron's efforts were marked by a series of blows to France from several African countries. Paris gradually had to withdraw its military from the Central African Republic, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where Russia's influence has increased. At the same time in early December, Chad denounced defense agreements with France, forcing it to withdraw its forces from there as well, and Senegalese President Bassirou Dioumaye Faye asked France to close its bases on Senegalese territory. In late November, Macron's envoy for Africa, Jean-Marie Boekel, presented the president with a report on the reconfiguration of the French military presence in Africa, which spoke of a renewed partnership built together with African countries according to their expressed security and defense needs.
As for Africa, in mid-November, France renewed its aid to the CAR in the amount of 10 million euros. The aid was frozen three years ago because of an anti-French campaign in the CAR that Paris said was directed by Moscow. At the same time, the secretary general of “Amnesty International“ Agnes Callamard said that French equipment was installed in UAE-made armored personnel carriers used by the paramilitary “Rapid Support Forces“ in Sudan, in violation of the EU arms embargo.
In addition to the blows that came from Africa to France during the year, the biggest diplomatic blow for Macron came in early December in the form of the finalization of negotiations for a free trade deal between the EU and the Mercosur bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Macron, Prime Minister Barnier and French ministers have repeatedly told Brussels that the deal in its current form is unacceptable to France. French farmers and all French political parties are also against it. On December 6, EC President Ursula von der Leyen, whose new European Commission had barely taken office, elected with the strong support of Macron's centrists, announced from Montevideo that negotiations on the trade deal had ended after 20 years of procrastination, world agencies noted. In addition to France, Poland and Italy are also against the deal, Agence France-Presse and ANSA recall. Dissatisfaction is also rising in the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria. On the occasion of the finalization of the negotiations, the French presidency stated that the agreement between the EU and Mercosur has neither been signed nor ratified and that things do not end there. The deal needs the approval of at least 15 EU member states out of a total of 27, and they must represent at least 65 percent of the eurozone's population. Farmers are worried that the deal, if it enters into force, will lead to a flood of agricultural products from Mercosur that will not meet high European standards. Supporters of the deal, including Germany and Spain, say it will eliminate import tariffs on goods and create a huge market of more than 700 million consumers. The deal will allow European medicines, cars and machinery to be exported from the EU to Mercosur.
The fight against the entry into force of the Mercosur deal, efforts to achieve industrial and defense strategic autonomy and prosperity for the EU, building relations with the new US Trump administration, maintaining ties with Asia and Latin America, but also with Africa, finding a way out of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are set to be central themes in Macron's diplomacy in 2025 as well. But will this multi-directional diplomacy not be weakened by another episode of the internal crisis in France, the French media are asking.