Macron heckled by protesters on Dutch state visit

Macron heckled by protesters on Dutch state visit
By Valerie Leroux with Danny Kemp in The Hague
Amsterdam (AFP) April 12, 2023

Protesters noisily disrupted French President Emmanuel Macron during a speech about Europe's future Tuesday as his domestic troubles intruded on his state visit to the Netherlands.

"Where is French democracy?" shouted the banner-waving demonstrators as Macron, who has faced violent protests at home over pensions reforms, addressed a largely student audience at a theatre in The Hague.

The first state visit to the Netherlands by a French president for 23 years was also clouded by a row over controversial comments that Macron made about Taiwan, the United States and China.

Macron is confronting the biggest challenge of his second term after pushing through his flagship pension overhaul, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The demonstrators had stood in an upper tier of the theatre and shouted "You have millions of protesters in the streets" while holding up a banner that read "President of Violence and Hypocrisy".

After security guards removed them, Macron said people who try to undermine laws passed by elected governments "put democracy at risk", citing the 2021 US Capitol riots and a 2023 attack on the Brazilian Congress.

- 'Perilous times' -

The pomp and ceremony of the visit later continued regardless, with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands hailing the 45-year-old French president at a state dinner in Amsterdam.

"Reform is not simple," the monarch said as he toasted his guest after a meal of asparagus soup with grey shrimp, followed by beef tournedos in a red wine sauce and a dessert made of traditional Dutch sweets.

"For us, for Europe and the whole world, it is vital that France is strong, prosperous and confident."

Macron's speech earlier made no mention of Taiwan, sticking instead to themes of Europe's need to look after its own interests.

"Being more sovereign" was "critical in this period of time where we have war and the economy is being weaponised", particularly due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said Macron.

The Ukraine war had "opened probably one of the most perilous times of our European Union", he added.

Macron had sparked controversy in recent days after he said in an interview with media including Politico and French business daily Les Echos that Europe should not be "followers" of the United States or China when it came to Taiwan.

The remarks drew praise in China -- which bristles at US support of what it sees as a breakaway province -- but raised eyebrows among Western allies.

- Vermeer visit -

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the alliance with the United States was an "absolute foundation" of European security.

US Senator Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said on Twitter that "we need to find out if Emmanuel Macron speaks for Europe".

And in a rambling interview on Fox News, former US president Donald Trump said the US had lost influence in the world since he left office to such an extent that "Macron, who's a friend of mine, is over with China, kissing his ass".

The Elysee Palace insisted Tuesday that the president had never called for Europe to keep an "equidistance" from the United States and China.

Macron's Dutch visit continues on Wednesday with a trip to the sold-out exhibition of painter Johannes Vermeer's works at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and talks with Prime Minister Mark Rutte on a canal boat.

He will also view a science park and sign a "pact for innovation" focusing on cooperation in semiconductors, quantum physics and energy.

Macron's visit is meant to highlight a new dynamic between Paris and The Hague after Brexit, when the Netherlands lost its strongest ally in Europe.

They will also work to finalise a defence pact by 2024.

Macron praised in China for 'brilliant' Taiwan comments
Beijing (AFP) April 12, 2023 - Emmanuel Macron's unexpected suggestion that Europe not "follow" US policy on Taiwan is being hailed as a "brilliant decision" this week in China, where state news outlets and social media users are lauding his independence.

The French president sowed confusion across the international community -- and left Western allies bristling -- after calling for "strategic autonomy" on Taiwan following last week's trip to China, where he met with President Xi Jinping.

The 45-year-old Macron enjoyed a rockstar reception during his three-day visit, including being mobbed by selfie-chasing students in the southern city of Guangzhou, and local media has covered his subsequent comments widely, focusing on the phrase "strategic autonomy".

An opinion piece published Monday by the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times said the comments were "clearly the result of Macron's long-term observation and reflection" and represented a path that was "relatively objective, rational and in line with Europe's own interests".

"Some people want to construct a false Europe in public opinion, masking true European voices and interests," the article added.

Chen Weihua, Brussels bureau chief for state-run China Daily, wrote on Twitter that "Macron's words about EU strategic autonomy and resisting a new Cold War and decoupling will also prove to be a brilliant decision".

Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory to one day be taken back, has long sought to break Western resolve on the thorny issue.

And Macron's recent words on distancing Europe from Washington on the subject of Taiwan suggest China's efforts might be having some success.

"Daring to talk openly about autonomy," commented a user of social media site Weibo under a news article on Macron, "Europe has progressed."

'Brilliant decision'

While the reputations of most Western leaders in China have suffered in recent years, Macron enjoys a largely favourable public image -- an attitude made evident by the hordes of students in Guangzhou.

His willingness in the recent interview to differentiate French foreign policy from that of the United States on the issue of Taiwan helped bolster that fan base.

One Weibo user commented: "Macron's ideas are very good. Europe's arrogance and inaction for many years have led to extreme strategic passivity, being pulled along by the US."

But such triumphant Chinese perspectives have also been tempered by more sober voices contending that geopolitical realities necessitate that France and Europe remain largely aligned with the US.

Hu Xijin, a prominent political commentator and former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, wrote Monday on Weibo that -- despite Macron's rosy comments -- it was "unrealistic" for China to think France would side with them in future confrontations with the US.

Europe and the US "have shared values and are bound together by NATO," wrote Hu.

"But we can firmly believe that as long as China treats European countries reasonably and fairly while the US forces them to oppose China, conflicts between their strategic interests will rise to the surface."

Other online commentators were more cynical about the reasoning behind Macron's comments.

"What's the use?" wrote on Weibo user. "He'll say one thing when he comes here to earn economic benefits, then do another when he gets the money. It's been like this for decades."