Low masses and pat on the shoulder, Macron displays his closeness with Javier Milei at the G20

Very tactile in nature, Emmanuel Macron is known for easily forming bonds with his counterparts, to the point of giving rise to lovely “bromances”, such as with Justin Trudeau. At the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, November 18, it was with another head of state that the French president appeared to be complicit, Javier Milei, the Argentine president. The two men were seen exchanging hugs, pats on the back and even whispers during the traditional group photo.

However, our colleagues from France Info assure that Emmanuel Macron was received “coldly” on Saturday in Argentina by his ultra-liberal counterpart in economic matters, ultra-conservative in terms of values ​​and radically climate skeptic – ideas close to those held by Donald Trump, whose victory he celebrated in person at Mar-a-Lago. Their one-on-one dinner and then their interview on Sunday seem to have borne fruit.

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Mercosur at the heart of the debates

In Argentina, Emmanuel Macron came to justify his opposition to the signing of a free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries, of which Argentina is a part, and against which French farmers are currently rising. “I said very sincerely and very clearly to the Argentine president that France today would not sign this Mercosur treaty as it stands,” declared Emmanuel Macron, assuring: Javier Milei “told me himself that he was not satisfied” with this text. France will continue “to hold a standoff as long as necessary” with the President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen against the EU-Mercosur free trade treaty, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon also said on Tuesday. on TF1.