The president is meeting this Saturday evening with Javier Milei, his ultra-liberal Argentine counterpart close to Trump, to discuss in particular their commercial interests, agriculture and global warming.
As planned, Emmanuel Macron arrived in Argentina on Saturday evening where he is to meet President Javier Milei, close to Donald Trump, with the aim of “to hang up» au «consensus international“. Particularly in the fight against global warming, on the eve of the G20 which will take place on November 18 and 19 in Brazil.
The presidential plane landed around 7:00 p.m. (10:00 p.m. in France) at Buenos Aires airport, according to the Élysée. The head of state, accompanied by his wife Brigitte Macron, was then to have dinner with his Argentine counterpart and his sister Karina Milei, secretary general of the presidency, before another interview on Sunday.
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«We don't always think the same thing on many subjects. But it is very useful to exchange» ahead of the G20, declared Emmanuel Macron in a video from his plane published on TikTok. “We will talk about our commercial interests, our trade, the defense of our agriculture and our farmers“, he added.
L’accord Mercosur
During his tour of Latin America which will also take him to Chile, he must explain to the Mercosur countries, which includes Argentina and Brazil, why he is opposed to the signing of a free trade agreement between this regional bloc and the European Union.
French farmers plan to mobilize in the coming days against this treaty that the European Commission, supported by several countries such as Germany and Spain, hopes to sign by the end of the year. They fear a surge of Latin American meat, and warn against unfair competition from products not subject to the strict environmental and health standards in force in Europe.
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The timing of this visit is special. Javier Milei returns from Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's Florida residence, where he participated in a conservative forum during which he advocated a “alliance» with the United States, Italy of Giorgia Meloni and Israel to preserve “Western heritage» threatened, in his eyes, by “the cultural hegemony of the left».
Both the US president-elect and the Argentine leader are toying with the idea of turning their backs on major multilateral climate agreements and goals. In this context, Emmanuel Macron hopes “convince Argentina to continue participating in the international consensus», Explains the Élysée. And so “attach President Milei to G20 priorities», in which they will participate Monday and Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro.
Argentina has just withdrawn its delegation from the COP29 climate negotiations in Baku, and speculation is rife about its possible exit from the Paris Climate Agreement. A gesture that Donald Trump himself made during his first term.
Tribute to the French victims
Paris also intends to deepen economic relations, particularly in the field of critical metals, while the French mining company Eramet has just inaugurated a lithium mine in Argentina.
Emmanuel Macron should also try to advance the possible sale of French Scorpène submarines, even if the French presidency puts the progress of the negotiations into perspective.
On Sunday, the French president will also pay tribute to the twenty French people who disappeared and were murdered under the Argentine military dictatorship between 1976 and 1979, while Javier Milei is accused by his detractors of revisionism on this dark page in the history of his country.
After Argentina, then the G20, Emmanuel Macron will go to Chile, where he will give a speech to the Congress in Valparaiso on Thursday on his policy towards Latin America.
