After the World Cup final, Emmanuel Macron swapped his costume as a supporter of the French football team for that of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armies. At the traditional Christmas party with the troops, this year on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, the head of state on Monday paid tribute to French soldiers and sailors in view of terrorism or the “unfriendly behavior” of the Russians.
After the World Cup, the President flew to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, from where he was flown to the Charles de Gaulle in the Red Sea. Emmanuel Macron underscored a long international streak that took him from Bali to Washington from the G20, honing his image as the first European leader to face a still very discreet German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and to stand in the front row at the head of the armed forces the global confrontations.
A blue jumpsuit for the President
The scene was set in two highly visual sequences: the chief of the armies first descended into the bowels of the steel mastodon in a gigantic aircraft elevator, and then donned the blue French Navy suit, marked with the mention “E. Macron President of the Republic”.
From the aircraft hangar, he then congratulated Charles de Gaulle’s 3,000 sailors and the buildings accompanying him on their “professionalism” in the face of “interactions” in the Mediterranean with “Russian aircraft and buildings with sometimes unfriendly behavior”. Before crossing the Suez Canal and entering the Red Sea on Sunday, the aircraft carrier took part in the defense of NATO’s eastern flank. The Russian buildings then regularly approached the Charles de Gaulle, sometimes very close, at the risk of impeding the maneuvering of the planes.
monkfish and foie gras
The aircraft carrier is also taking part in the fight of the international coalition under American command (Inherent Resolve) against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. This “also made it possible to show the competitors present in the region that France is to be reckoned with”, Emmanuel Macron underlined, referring to Russia but also the Chinese Navy, which has a very strong presence in the Red Sea from its anchor point of Djibouti .
After a series of Rafale takeoffs and landings and a visit to the seafarers’ recreation area, the head of state dined with 140 crew members. On the menu: foie gras on gingerbread, monkfish and risotto, ice cream, champagne, gigondas and Bourgogne Aligoté. He then spent the night on board before arriving in Jordan for a regional conference on Tuesday.
Emmanuel Macron’s meal aboard the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, December 19, 2022. – Ludovic MARIN / POOL
Emmanuel Macron also took the opportunity to express his desire to appeal to soldiers and former soldiers to strengthen “the moral forces of the nation, especially the youth”, through his universal national service project, which he committed to in early 2023 He also pledged to maintain a special pension system for the military as part of pension reforms to be presented in January.