Meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Javier Milei at the Elysée Palace one-on-one

Emmanuel Macron receives at the Elysée Palace several dozen heads of state or government who have come to Paris to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, before the guests head to the Trocadéro to watch the parade on the Seine.

A few counterparts will also have the right to a one-on-one. In the morning around 10am, Israeli President Isaac Herzog was received by Emmanuel Macron, whom he guaranteed “France’s commitment to ensuring the safety of the athletes of the Israeli delegation”.

Around 11am, it was the turn of the Argentine President, Javier Milei. This will leave the right to two other counterparts such as Madagascar and the Comoros, in the afternoon before the arrival of the 85 delegates of the States.

Javier MILEI, on the occasion of this first working meeting, with his French counterpart, new projects in the fields of energy transition, defense, science and culture, for both countries.

The Argentine president (ultra-liberal of the extreme right) may surprise, especially since a “working dinner” between Macron and Milei that had been mentioned for June 19 at the Elysée did not ultimately take place. And that bilateral sporting-diplomatic tensions have multiplied in recent weeks.

One of them originates from the racist song sung by the Argentine players in the euphoria of their victory in the Copa America final, on July 14 against Colombia. “Paste pas, ils joue pour la France” … if the French president shows diplomacy and agrees to meet his Argentine counterpart, will the French forget the reaction of the Argentine footballers on July 14, the French national holiday? It remains to be seen at the opening ceremony tonight!

First of all, inflation, the heart of his fight and the expectations of the Argentines who, disgusted by decades of mismanagement, corruption, cronyism and threats of bankruptcy, brought him to power, against all expectations, last December.

The figures released in recent days on hyperinflation, the state of public finances, and even poverty or growth have enough to surprise many detractors of the libertarian president who came to power seven months ago, the drift in prices fell to 4.6% per month in May, against 25% in December, “the main success, incontestably, of the executive, based on a lucid diagnosis and justified and courageous measures, mixed with others that are more in the realm of short-term expedients, or trompe-l’oeil”.

Javier Milei went to the axe, or rather the chainsaw, his favorite tool, to reduce the public deficit, 5.3% of GDP last year, the main driver of inflation since it was financed by the central bank’s printing press: in the first quarter, public spending, excluding debt servicing, fell by… 28.6% in real terms compared to the same period in 2023, according to a study by the IARAF firm. A budgetary adjustment “unparalleled in the history of humanity” in its scale and speed, trumpeted the Argentine president.

Another important point that was introduced into the debate was the analysis of major international issues, a point that he had discussed earlier with his Israeli counterpart, concerning terrorism and anti-Semitism or the problems between Israel and Gaza, as well as the situation between Russia and Ukraine … but also on the diplomatic sports conflict that took place on July 14 … etc.

Argentine President Javier Milei was accompanied by his sister, and he considers that he has succeeded in his first meeting with his French counterpart, even though on July 14 the Argentine team created a diplomatic conflict, due to the racist behavior towards the French State.
He thanked his counterpart and the French people, for the opportunity it gave him to resolve the undesirable incident created by the Argentine team between the two countries, but also for the opportunity for bilateral collaboration.

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Gabriel MIHAI

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