The day after the end of the G7 in Evian-les-Bains (Haute-Savoie) and before going to a meeting of the European Council, Emmanuel Macron was the guest of the show “L’Evénement” on France 2, Thursday June 18.
The President of the Republic answered questions from Caroline Roux about the war in the Middle East, the conflict in Ukraine and his bilateral relations with Donald Trump. From the Elysée, the head of state was also questioned on some domestic policy issues, such as the death of Lyhanna, and on his assessment, ten months from the end of his mandate.
Emmanuel Macron “does not believe” that the war between the United States and Iran “is completely over”
“It happened quite spontaneously”relates Emmanuel Macron, a few hours after Donald Trump signed the peace agreement with Iran in Versailles. The Head of State assures that the decision to organize this signing in France was taken “by mutual agreement” between Paris and Washington.
“It’s a good thing,” more “I don’t think we can say that [la guerre] is completely finished”says Emmanuel Macron. “We are entering a new phase, which is that of cooperation, of dialogue”he specifies, adding that negotiations should be resumed on Iranian nuclear power. “For them to end, France, Germany and the United Kingdom are essential, to lift the sanctions decided by the UN.”
Is this agreement not a simple return to the situation preceding the war triggered by the United States and Israel, with a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but no definitive guarantee on Iranian nuclear power and a Tehran regime strengthened by this standoff? “It’s always better to have an agreement than war, especially when there is a risk of escalation and that was the case”replies the head of state, who also judges that this war has “weakened” THE “military capabilities” from Iran.
“We don’t have a regime change through bombing”also comments Emmanuel Macron, believing that “people around [Donald Trump] pushed him to go much further, much stronger” as part of this operation targeting Iran.
“Prices at the pump will gradually fall,” judges the president
“The signing of this agreement immediately lowered prices” du baril de pétrole et “so prices at the pump will gradually fall”believes the head of state. “It is important that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened in a sustainable way”he continues, for all ships, including those under the French flag, like the one which crossed the strait on Thursday morning. “We have not obtained any guarantee, because France is not a party to this agreement”he underlines, adding that Donald Trump had assured him that the strait would reopen without conditions and without paying toll.
Emmanuel Macron continues to hammer it: France “is available to assist in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz”even if for the moment, Washington is not taking up this offer. The head of state also insists on the need to establish other oil transport routes. “We cannot depend on this strait”used as “pressure tool” par Téhéran.
Emmanuel Macron wants Lebanon to “regain control of its territories”
Emmanuel Macron insists on the importance of this peace agreement for Lebanon, while the Israeli army is carrying out strikes in the south of the country to fight the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement. “We will very quickly mobilize the international community to help the Lebanese army regain control of its territories”he says.
Asked about the position of Benjamin Netanyahu, who refuses to withdraw his troops from southern Lebanon, Emmanuel Macron believes that Donald Trump “is right [quand il dit que le Premier ministre israélien] must demonstrate a spirit of responsibility.” “The policy that [Benyamin Nétanyahou] continues to lead to Gaza, the West Bank, and southern Lebanon is, in the long term, contrary to the interests of Israel because it fuels resentment and violence among all the populations of the region.”he declares.
Emmanuel Macron believes that “Ukraine” is resisting “very well” against Russia
More than four years after the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron praises the resistance of the kyiv army and its drone production capacity, “stunning”. “Ukraine is resisting very well,” he reacts. According to him, the G7 allowed Donald Trump to become aware of this, “a real step forward”.
“When Donald Trump arrived [au pouvoir]he thought that Ukraine was going to lose, that’s why he wanted to bring about a quick peace, (…) things were going badly between President Trump and President Zelensky in the Oval Office”traces the French president. “I am convinced that Donald Trump will make more commitments so that we can collectively help Ukraine”he added.
Donald Trump’s “style” is “always a bit provocative”, according to the head of state
Asked about his relations with the tenant of the Oval Office at the White House, Emmanuel Macron recognizes that“There are subjects on which we do not agree: gender equality, the climate, the relationship to international law. These are not small subjects”he concedes. “But I am pragmatic, I tried to have a G7 where I engaged the Americans wherever we could have agreements”he continues.
“Style is always a bit of provocation, more precisely a form of threat to have a balance of power”analyzes Emmanuel Macron. While Donald Trump promises to tax French wines if Paris imposes a tax on tech giants, the French president claims to have succeeded in “soothe” things. “We decided to open work with the American administration to show them that we must tax these groups”he says.
For Emmanuel Macron, “Europe is not putting enough money into AI”
The suspension of certain Anthropic tools in Europe, decreed by Washington, was also on the menu of discussions between Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron. The latter wants to be reassuring about the artificial intelligence (AI) models developed by the American company.
“There are two leaders in AI: the United States and China. Europe has failed. In Europe, [la France] is by far the best. (…) We are European champions, now we want to be in the world competition”, declared the head of state. Emmanuel Macron deplores, however, that “Europe does not [mette] not enough money on AI”.
“We need to make our procedures more efficient,” he declared after Lyhanna’s death
Asked about the death of Lyhanna, Emmanuel Macron believes that“a profound transformation is underway” in the country after the shock caused by this affair. “I said it from day one, there were things that weren’t done well.”he added. “There is inspection work that has been requested. It will be delivered on June 22.”
“We must never get used to it, we must always be indignant, but that should not mean helplessness or vindictiveness. (…) If we want this indignation to be fruitful, it must translate into useful actions.” On the subject, he recognizes that“we must tirelessly continue to make our procedures more efficient.”
