Did France’s little Napoleon really believe he could rein in Moscow’s bloodsoaked ally? Macron’s trip to China was almost as embarrassing as his efforts to stop Putin invading Ukraine, writes JONATHAN MILLER
When the going gets tough, Emmanuel Macron gets out of town. As hundreds of thousands of French citizens took to the streets for yet more furious, often violent, protests against his plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, where was their president? Miles above it all, literally and figuratively.
Yesterday, France’s Little Napoleon flew to Beijing – to hobnob with Chinese President Xi Jinping – in his presidential plane, a craft that rivals President Biden’s Air Force One for opulence.
Acquired at an estimated cost of £220million, it boasts a swanky presidential suite with a private loo, and a team of top chefs to produce haute cuisine such as foie gras and lobster, served on Limoges china and accompanied by the finest wines, including – of course – vintage champagne.
While Macron enjoyed such delights at 40,000ft, grave doubts were being expressed on the ground in Washington, and other Western capitals, about his plan to woo Beijing away from Moscow.
His ill-advised trip was, some suggested, a fool’s errand.
Yesterday, France’s Little Napoleon flew to Beijing – to hobnob with Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured) – in his presidential plane, a craft that rivals President Biden’s Air Force One for opulence
Had Macron’s mission had any realistic prospects of success, he would have been justified in trying. As Churchill is supposed to have said, ‘Jaw-jaw is better than war-war.’
But such a generous judgment only applies if both parties are serious about negotiations.
Instead, it soon became clear that, after what the Elysee Palace euphemistically termed ‘frank and constructive talks’, Xi hadn’t budged an inch.
When Macron urged him to ‘bring Putin to his senses’, Xi simply repeated his mantra that ‘all sides’ have ‘reasonable security concerns’, and urged peace talks.
By sharing a platform with Xi as he made such cynical statements, Macron only served to legitimise them.
While the French president smiled uncomfortably alongside the hatchet-faced Chinese dictator, 4,000 miles away in Ukraine, mercenaries from the Wagner group continued their suicidal attempts to seize the city of Bakhmut.
Indeed, yesterday’s farce in the Chinese capital was almost as embarrassing as Macron’s futile efforts last February to persuade Vladimir Putin to call off his invasion.
Endless phone calls and a ‘tete a tete’ at which Macron and Putin were seated at opposite ends of an absurdly long table achieved nothing. The Russian leader listened then ordered his tanks over the border anyway.
Did Macron really believe he could persuade Xi, another man whose hands are soaked in blood, to value human life more than a political power play?
Lest we forget, this is a despot who has committed genocide against China’s Uighur minority, using torture and sexual violence, locking up over a million in camps and overseeing mass sterilisation.
Not that human rights were high on Macron’s agenda yesterday. The French leader appeared to be more concerned with drumming up business, signing several deals, including one for the sale of Airbus aircraft.
And then, of course, there was the spectre of this vain and arrogant man’s naked self-interest.
Following the departure of Germany’s long-time Chancellor Angela Merkel at the end of 2021, Macron has seen himself as the de facto leader of the EU, hence his decision to invite Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, to accompany him to China.
Following the departure of Germany’s long-time Chancellor Angela Merkel at the end of 2021, Macron has seen himself as the de facto leader of the EU, hence his decision to invite Ursula von der Leyen (pictured, right), president of the European Commission, to accompany him to China
But it was clear to all that she was a mere courtier to his Sun King and there was no question of her gatecrashing the bilaterals between Macron and Xi.
The geopolitics of the trip also helped divert attention from the domestic chaos he left behind.
Strutting his stuff on the world stage was clearly more appealing than staying at home to reason with irrational protesters. But French voters won’t be impressed.
They will note that last week he was forced to cancel the visit of a real king, our very own Charles III, because of fears that he could not be adequately protected.
And the fact that nothing so much as an egg was thrown when Charles made his first state visit to Berlin days later only highlighted the contrast between orderly Germany and malfunctioning France.
Reports suggesting Macron’s homeland is a failed state, or on the verge of constitutional collapse, are probably exaggerated. But it’s getting harder to be sanguine about the future of President Macron.
His authority is being defied by millions of his countrymen, even once-tame journalists are turning against him. No wonder there are whispers of presidential rages in the Elysee corridors, interspersed with periods of deep melancholia.
All in all, his once high-flying presidency is looking distinctly like a souffle that has fallen flat.
Jonathan Miller, who lives near Montpellier, is the author of France, A Nation On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown
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