Emmanuel Macron says ‘France is back’ on world stage
But the French president’s biggest problems are on home soil.
President Emmanuel Macron challenged Donald Trump’s hard-line stance on Iran and insisted on Sunday that “France is back” in the world arena.
But Mr Macron’s real problems lay at home.
And in his first national television interview since his election, the 39-year-old leader struggled to claw back public support for his “economic transformation” of a stagnant France and to shed his image as a president of the rich.
Though he came into the presidency little-prepared to lead a nuclear-armed country, Mr Macron played on his international stature during his appearance on the TF1 network.
He suggested he helped persuade Mr Trump not to “tear up” the international accord curbing Iranian nuclear activities in exchange for resumed trade.
Mr Trump stopped short of pulling out of the deal in a speech on Friday, but accused Iran of violating it and held open the possibility of a US withdrawal.
“He wants to make things tougher with Iran … I explained to him that for me that is a bad method,” Mr Macron said.
“Look at the Korea situation. We broke off all negotiations with Korea. What is the result? A few years later we have a country that is about to have a nuclear weapon.”
To drive home his support for the Iranian accord, the French leader pledged to visit Iran soon.
Asked if he was concerned that what critics see as Mr Trump’s erratic leadership is dangerous or worrying, Mr Macron said no.
“The US is our ally,” Mr Macron said, stressing the importance of military cooperation against Islamic extremists in Syria and beyond.
He defended the idea of multilateralism, instead of each country for itself, but he also insisted that France will not quietly bow to the US or other interests.
Mr Macron also pointed to French accomplishments since his election: the choice of Paris to host the 2024 Olympics and the victory of France’s candidate to lead UN cultural agency, Unesco.
“We’re here. France is back,” he said.
The president showed no sympathy for Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who is facing a tsunami of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse.
“I have started the steps to withdraw the Legion of Honour award” bestowed on Weinstein in 2012 for his work on Oscar-winning French film The Artist, Mr Macron said.
He pledged new measures against sexual harassment, notably in public transport, and speeded-up procedures for investigating and prosecuting such acts to encourage more women to come forward when abused.
“The important thing is to talk. It’s not the women who should be ashamed, it’s the men,” he said.
When it came to what matters most to the French, the economy and their jobs, Mr Macron appeared both combative and defensive.
He refused to apologise for blunt language about workers in a struggling factory “screwing everything up” instead of looking for work.
“I wasn’t trying to humiliate. … I take full responsibility for what was said,” he said.
