In theory, the French president Emmanuel Macron and the Brazilian counterpart Squid have very little in common: the first could be the son of the second and has a background as a banker, while his South American colleague is a former metalworker unionist and a reference figure for radical left-wing groups around the world. In fact, however, the two often meet, take selfies, exchange mutual compliments bordering on demonstrations of affection and are also united by the circumstance of being two leaders substantially in decline, in fact distrusted by their electorate and falling in popularity, as well as expiring their mandate. This is why both are in a hurry to close the many, many open dossiers between France and Brazil, two countries that, with the lights off, are building a profitable alliance on the Euro-Atlantic axis in times of international crisis, of difficult relations with Washington due to tariffs and other issues, and of imminent trade pacts between the EU and South America.
International divergences, between Ukraine and the Middle East
Moreover, what divides Lula and Macron are precisely the positions to be held on the international chessboard: the Frenchman is one of the major allies of theUkraine and therefore detractors of the Russian president Vladimir Putin, who instead received the Brazilian president in Moscow a few weeks ago with all the honors of the case, sealing a partnership that is still very solid, despite pressure from the West. In fact, Lula condemns the Russian invasion but with caution, without openly asking for the head of his friend Putin (the two countries are also allies in the BRICS and Brazil will host the summit in early July), instead acting as ambassador for a peace proposal. On the contrary, the Elysée is struggling to harshly condemn Israel for what is happening in the Gaza Strip, whereas Lula insists on a clearer and more decisive position pro-Palestinian in the international community. The Brazilian president was however seduced by Macron's welcome ten days ago in Paris, when for the occasion the Eiffel Tower was illuminated with the colors of the Brazilian flag. The fact sparked the irony of the Brazilian press, which spoke of "Bromance" (that is, romantic brotherhood) and of a Lula who, together with his wife Janja, who had become a close friend of Brigitte, had his "ego tickled".
Amazon: 1 billion plan to protect it but gas is tempting
The environment was on the table at the meeting, first of all, since a few days later the two went to Nice for the UN Ocean Conference, where Macron said that “Greenland is not for sale” and once again urged Brazil to do more to protect the Amazon: "Lula is doing a lot, but Petrobras's plan (whose majority shareholder is the Brazilian government, ed.) to extract oil from the Amazon delta is not good for the climate". In short, the French president is taking on the fight against drilling in Amazon, but at the same time it makes agreements that involve the Amazon and Petrobras itself. The oil giant is in fact accused of throwing back into the sea a good part of the natural gas extracted, to produce more crude oil, but this practice has a devastating environmental impact and Paris has intervened in the matter, having Engie sign an agreement with the Brazilian Origem Energia for the underground storage of natural gas. Macron has proven to be “generous” by launching together with Lula a joint program to finance the bioeconomy in the Brazilian Amazon and French Guiana: the two countries have allocated 1 billion euros, but at the same time France has less noble intentions in the area.
Guyana's Maximum Security Prison and the Gold Rush
While Macron was taking selfies with Lula at the Trocadero, his Justice Minister Gerard Darmarin was in French Guiana, which shares a 730-kilometer border with Brazil, and announced a maximum security prison for terrorists, Guantanamo-style, in the middle of the Amazon forest, albeit on French soil. Also in Guyana, illegal gold mining is rampant, contributing to the same deforestation that Paris and Brasilia claim to be fighting: by exploiting the black Brazilian workforce, every year up to 10 thousand tons of gold, in a country of only 85 thousand square meters of surface area. The friendship between the two leaders has also intervened on this: in January they signed an agreement to trace the "DNA" of the gold that comes out of Guyana. And faced with all this interest and this ostentatious friendship, what does Lula ask in exchange? Simple: that the long-awaited EU-Mercosur agreement be ratified as soon as possible, on which it is precisely France - together with Italy - that is putting up the greatest resistance, in the face of protests from the agricultural world.
And what does Lula want? EU-Mercosur agreement and investments
The agreement, expected for 25 years, was actually signed in 2024 in Historic Montevideo Summit, in Uruguay, where Ursula Von der Leyen herself had gone, but it is not yet effective. For Brazil, a giant exporter of agri-food raw materials and penalized by Trump's duties, it is a golden deal that must be closed quickly. And it does not end here: his friend Emmanuel has made French companies promise to invest the beauty of 100 billion reais, just under 20 billion euros, in Brazil over the next five years. Already today, 1.300 transalpine companies operate in the Portuguese-speaking country, which guarantee 500 thousand jobs. For comparison, Italy, which has much more historical and cultural ties with Brazil than France, brings a thousand companies to the South American country, some of which are deeply rooted, such as Enel, Tim, Leonardo, Fiat, Pirelli, Campari, Barilla. But today relations with the economically strongest country from Mexico down are increasingly cold.