Mehr News Agency – French President Emmanuel Macron has recently had lots of ups and downs! On the one hand, he had secret dealings with Trump’s government over current issues in the region (especially over Syria and Iran), and on the other hand, he is trying to enter international equations as an independent leader.
At this point, Macron tried to challenge Trump’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly, and expressed regret that the US president introduced “nationalism” as a basis for his actions towards the international community. It remains unclear, however, whether other European players would be willing to accept him as their leader in today’s complicated conflicts.
The CNN has recently reported that “French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a fiery rebuke of US policies under President Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly Tuesday, signaling that he is ready to take up the mantle of global leadership usually assumed by a US leader.” It continues; “At times directly referring to the US, Macron rapped the Trump administration for its policies on Iran, climate change, the UN, migration and Mideast peace, among others.”
The report adds on that the 40-year-old French leader also took direct aim at the central theme of Trump’s speech earlier in the day, in which the US President focused on sovereignty and emphasized his administration’s intent to distance itself from international agreements and groups.
“I shall never stop upholding the principal of sovereignty,” Macron told the General Assembly, which draws more than 120 world leaders each year. “Even in the face of certain nationalism which we’re seeing today, brandishing sovereignty as a way of attacking others.”
But unlike Trump’s emphasis on the importance of countries’ independence, Macron offered a different vision, one that earned him sustained applause when he was done.
“Only collective action allows for the upholding of the sovereignty and equality of the people in whose name we take action,” Macron said. “This is the reason we must take action against climate, demographic and digital challenges. No one alone can tackle these.”
Macron began by telling the assembly that the world order based on sovereignty and equality among nations that came into being in the 1600s was facing a “far-reaching crisis,” and said the answer lay in cooperation and collaboration among nations.
“Nationalism always leads to defeat,” said Macron, who couched his remarks in the historical context of Europe’s world wars. “If courage is lacking in the defense of fundamental principles, international order becomes fragile and this can lead as we have already seen twice, to global war. We saw that with our very own eyes.”
According to the CNN report, Macron is trying to get away from Trump and his policies, an in this way, he’s attempting to lead the European players (in the absence of the Trump government). But the truth is that Macron’s play on the US ground is proved by now, and it can’t be easily overtaken. Though Macron has criticized Trump’s policies towards Iran, the Elysee Palace continues its direct play to the US benefits.
The evidences suggest that French President, Emmanuel Macron, is once again planning to get involved in a “predetermined game” over bringing up the issue of making a “complementary agreement” regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action at the United Nations General Assembly, and then ask Washington to return to the nuclear deal if Iran agrees to restrain its missile and regional capabilities!
Wall Street Journal writes accordingly; “France’s President Emmanuel Macron plans to resurrect his proposal for “JCPOA Plus,” a plan that referred to as for the US to stay dedicated to the accord as world powers work out a parallel understanding on restrict Iran’s missile program and press Tehran on its regional insurance policies.” It continues; “Iran and Europe level out that the deal was restricted to the nuclear program and that UN displays repeatedly have licensed that Iran has been abiding by the phrases of the pact.”
As the Wall Street Journal has emphasized, the issue of “complementing the nuclear deal” has long been raised by the French, and this trend has continued after the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA. While some of our statesmen are pleased with the agreement between the European and the Trump’s government (regarding the JCPOA), secret deals were made between the United States and Europe.
Although our statesmen focus on the words of Donald Trump at the Security Council meeting, and are awaiting the analysis of his speeches, Macron is now the one person responsible for directing this game in the form of a joint synergy between the White House and the Elysees Palace! This is also the case with the United States and France’s common regional policy.
An alliance with the White House against Syria and a military strike against this country is not something that can be easily ignored. This suggests that France has not yet been able to act as an independent player in the international system, let alone being introduced as an “international leader” to the rest of the world!
Undoubtedly, there is a huge gap between the French authorities’ speeches and actions about the necessity to be committed to multilateralism. This same paradoxical approach has made it impossible to mention Emmanuel Macron as a powerful politician in the international system. Obviously, under such circumstances, attempts like that of CNN to change Macron’s real face won’t be able to affect the minds of the European citizens towards him.
Twitter: @ghaderi62 – Email: m.ghaderi62@gmail.co
