Macron was reelected after winning the second round of voting on Sunday (24th) against farright representative Marine Le Pen, who surrendered minutes after the polls closed.
“The Brazilian government congratulates Emmanuel Macron on his reelection as President of the French Republic. Brazil reiterates its willingness to work towards deepening the historical ties that unite the two countries and bring mutual benefits to the Brazilians and French, and expresses its expectation to continue implementing the broad bilateral agenda,” the Itamaraty said in a statement .
The relationship between Macron and Bolsonaro is characterized by mutual criticism. One of the most sensitive issues is Brazil’s environmental policy, which has been criticized by the French head of state. Bolsonaro, in turn, accuses Macron of hidden interests in relation to the Brazilian forest.
Bolsonaro also caused controversy by making a comment about the French first lady, to which Macron responded.
In a post on a social network about the performance of Brazilian Air Force (FAB) planes to fight the Amazon fires, a supporter posted photos of the presidents accompanied by their wives with the following question: “Now do you understand why Macron is? Persecution of Bolsonaro?” The follower added: “I envy the President of Macron, believe me [sic]”. Bolsonaro responded to the comment by saying: “Rodrigo Andreaça does not humiliate kkkkk”.
Macron criticized the comment as “extremely disrespectful”. The French leader also said he hopes the Brazilians will soon have a president who is up to the task.
“What can I say? It’s sad, it’s sad. But first of all it’s sad for him and for Brazilians. I think Brazilian women are undoubtedly ashamed to read this about their president,” Macron said.
“I think that Brazilians, who are a great people, are also ashamed to see this behavior they expect you to behave well towards others when you are president,” said the French president.
In November, Macron received as head of state at the Elysée Palace former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a precandidate for the presidency in this year’s elections and opponent of Bolsonaro, who will seek reelection (pictured below).
1 of 1 Former President Lula during a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, President of France, in Paris in November — Photo: Ricardo Stuckert/Reproduction/Twitter
Former President Lula during a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, President of France, in Paris in November — Photo: Ricardo Stuckert/Reproduction/Twitter
In 2019, Bolsonaro said France’s president needed to “cut back insults” against him and Brazil before considering accepting $20 million in aid from G7 countries to help fight Amazon fires.
Bolsonaro said Macron called him a “liar” and threatened Amazon sovereignty by talking about defining an “international status” for the Amazon.
The President made the statements when asked why the country did not accept the aid offered by the G7, which was proposed after record numbers of fires were disclosed. Bolsonaro presented conditions to talk about the issue.
“First of all, Mr. Macron must take back the insults he made towards me. At first he called me a liar. And then the information I had that our sovereignty in the Amazon is open,” Bolsonaro declared as he exited the Palácio da Alvorada.
“In order to speak to France or accept anything that has the best possible intentions, he has to retract those words and then we can talk,” he added.
One of the journalists insisted when he asked if Brazil could accept the money if Macron retracted his comments on the internationalization of the Amazon. Bolsonaro replied: “First he withdraws, then he offers, then I answer”.