Macron’s Historic Visit to Argentina: Strengthening France-Argentina Relations

Six years after his last visit, Emmanuel Macron returned to Casa Rosada this Sunday. During his previous visit, he met with then-president Mauricio Macri. This time, he was welcomed by current president Javier Milei on a rainy day as they walked from the Salón de los Bustos to Milei’s office, stopping for formal greetings in the Salón Blanco.

A few minutes after the scheduled time, Macron arrived in an official car at the Rivadavia entrance. With a big smile, Milei greeted him at the door while Karina Milei, the Secretary General, welcomed Brigitte Macron, the First Lady. The formal greeting in the Salón Blanco lasted a bit longer, as Milei explained the significance of the Busto de la República, a work by Italian artist Ettore Ximenes, which was positioned behind them.

Following a brief private meeting between the presidents, which was short because they had met the night before, ministers and advisors from both countries gathered in the Eva Perón salon for discussions. Afterward, both leaders appeared on the balcony of Casa Rosada to greet a lively crowd of supporters, tourists, and onlookers who had gathered in Plaza de Mayo despite the rain. Finally, Macron and Milei held a meeting in the Salón de los Científicos with Argentine companies interested in investing in France. Macron departed for the airport shortly after 1:15 PM, en route to Brazil.

According to sources from both countries, Milei expressed gratitude to Macron for France’s support in the IMF and for promoting Argentina’s membership in the OECD and NATO. They also discussed boosting investments in sectors such as mining (lithium and copper), energy, technology, and the automotive industry. Macron acknowledged that the challenging EU-Mercosur agreement was also part of their talks. “France opposes this agreement. And President Milei said he was not satisfied with it either,” Macron stated according to Le Monde. Official Argentine sources indicated this does not mean Argentina will not seek a partial agreement in the coming weeks.

“Working with President Milei, we will strengthen cooperation between Argentina and France in the areas of economy, defense, and innovation. The dialogue we are having before the G20 is vital for the relationship between Europe and Latin America,” Macron wrote on social media after his visit.

For the Argentine government, French investments in Argentina were a primary focus of the bilateral meeting, which occurred before both leaders traveled to Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit hosted by Brazil. Beyond reaffirming the good rapport between the two presidents, who met in Paris during the Olympic Games inauguration, Macron’s agenda included concerns about climate change, which Argentina does not prioritize, and paying tribute to the French victims of the last dictatorship, a gesture contrasting with the official view of the events in Argentina in the 1970s.

Macron arrived shortly before 7 PM on Saturday at Ezeiza International Airport. He was welcomed by the new Deputy Chancellor, Eduardo Bustamante, the Argentine ambassador to Paris, Ian Sielecki, and the French ambassador in Buenos Aires, Romain Nadal, who has been in the country since August 2023.

Soon after, he attended a dinner at the presidential residence in Olivos with the President and First Lady Brigitte Macron. Karina Milei, who has a good relationship with Brigitte, also joined, along with Chancellor Gerardo Werthein and Ambassador Sielecki. According to reports, the dinner was described as “pleasant and relaxed”, featuring an Argentine barbecue, as Karina had promised the Macrons during their trip to France. They reportedly expressed that Karina’s visit was crucial for their decision to come to Argentina.

Before the traditional homage to San Martín in the plaza named after him was canceled due to weather conditions, Macron visited the Iglesia de la Santa Cruz in San Cristóbal. As part of the customary agenda for French dignitaries visiting Argentina, he laid a floral tribute for approximately twenty French individuals who were disappeared and killed during the last military dictatorship. This includes the nuns Alice Domon and Léonie Duquet, who went missing in December 1977 amid the repression. “It is a private, not bilateral activity,” emphasized sources from Casa Rosada, indicating a discreet separation from the tribute, which Macron attended at around 9:30 AM with the First Lady, escorted by significant police presence.

The tribute, described by those close to Macron as “moving,” included family members of victims and human rights organizations. Simultaneously, Buenos Aires’ mayor Jorge Macri presented Macron with the city keys. He was joined by Fulvio Pompeo, the Secretary General of the Buenos Aires government, and Belén Ludueña, the mayor’s wife.

The differing views on the events during Argentina’s military dictatorship are not the only points of divergence between the two presidents and their governments. The recent withdrawal of the Argentine delegation from the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, and talks of exiting the Paris Agreement ahead of the G20 summit in Brazil contrast with France’s strong commitment to environmental protection. France has been a significant proponent of the Green Pact, a series of ecological recommendations attached to the EU-Mercosur agreement, which for many years, particularly during Jair Bolsonaro’s administration in Brazil, blocked any potential for a global agreement.

Therefore, the Argentine government focused on highlighting the commercial agreements with Macron. Recent announcements about French companies investing in Argentina, including supermarket chain Carrefour, mining company Eramet, and automotive manufacturer Renault, were key topics during their discussions. The gathering of entrepreneurs included Marcos Galperin (Mercado Libre), Martín Migoya (Globant), and Alejandro and Marcos Bulgheroni (both from PAE), among others.