Macron Attacks Nationalism In Speech To US Congress
French
President Emmanuel Macron has used his rare speech to the joint houses of the
US Congress to denounce nationalism and isolationism.
Mr Macron
said such policies were a threat to global prosperity.
He said the
US had invented multilateralism and now needed to reinvent it to create a new
21st Century world order.
Mr Macron
also hailed the "unbreakable bonds" of the US and France, forged in
"liberty, tolerance and equal rights".
The French
president was given a three-minute standing ovation as he took his place in the
chamber for his speech.
Mr Macron
has developed a strong relationship with President Donald Trump, becoming the
first foreign leader to be afforded a US state visit.
But the
French president's comments showed that the pair do not agree on all subjects.
Mr Macron
said isolationism, withdrawal and nationalism "could be tempting" as
a "temporary answer" but they "would not douse, only inflame,
the fears of our citizens".
This is a
thinly veiled rebuke to @realDonaldTrump
from @EmmanuelMacron -
"we can choose isolationism, withdrawal and nationalism...but that will
only inflame the fears of our citizens."
He said:
"We must keep our eyes wide open to the risks in front of us... If we open
our eyes wider, we will become stronger."
He said the
UN and Nato might not be able to fulfil their mandates and assure stability if
the West ignored the new dangers arising in the world.
On trade, he
said that "commercial war is not the proper answer", as it would
"destroy jobs and increase prices", adding: "We should negotiate
through the World Trade Organization. We wrote these rules, we should follow
them."
Mr Trump has
in the past said that trade wars are good and easily won.
Mr Macron's
wide-ranging address highlighted numerous political and cultural links, citing
Lafayette, Simone de Beauvoir, Abraham Lincoln, Hemingway, Chateaubriand and
both Presidents Roosevelt.
FROM bbc.com/news/world-us-canada
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