Follow Clea on Twitter | Send tips and insights to ccaulcutt@politico.eu Bonjour and welcome to this Wednesday’s edition of Global Insider! I’m Clea Caulcutt, POLITICO’s senior France correspondent, bringing you the latest French and global news from Paris. I’ll give you an update on the woes of French President Emmanuel Macron, who is trying to reconnect with the French people after weeks of protests and strikes against his unpopular pension reforms. Life hasn’t been easy for the former golden boy of French politics, who has faced an angry backlash over his comments on Taiwan, and cannot find solace at home, either. But first, Ukraine. UKRAINE WAR
FROM HERO TO WEIRDO: The global community of diplomats, eco-activists and liberals heaved a collective sigh of relief when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat Jair Bolsonaro — aka the “Tropical Trump” — last year in Brazil’s presidential election. In November, Lula was given a rock star welcome at the COP27 in Egypt, where he told crowds “Brazil is back” and vowed to stop deforestation. Reality bites. But in Europe, foreign affairs officials are worried about Lula’s increasingly hostile stance on Ukraine, parroting Russian talking points and urging Europe and the U.S. to stop helping Ukrainians defend themselves against Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion. The EU is now “concerned about Brazil’s position on Russia’s war on Ukraine and Brazil’s lack of delivery on climate [and] environment,” according to a leaked confidential briefing that EU foreign affairs ministers will discuss at a summit next week. Trade ties. Hopes were high in Brussels and other EU capitals that this year would prove a window of opportunity to strike a historic trade deal with South America’s trading bloc, including Brazil, which would allow EU countries to diversify away from China, writes POLITICO Brussels Playbook. According to the document, EU officials still want to move ahead with the EU-Mercosur agreement despite the negative signals from Brazil. Easier said than done. Europe faces fierce competition from China in its efforts to boost trade links with South America. China is already by far Brazil’s biggest trading partner, and has invested billions in the country’s energy grid and its agri-food industry, according to Alicia García Herrero, an economist with Bruegel and Natixis. China also appears to be eclipsing the U.S. in Brazil, with Lula announcing he would drop the dollar to trade in yuan during a visit to Beijing last week. UKRAINIAN INVITE: Meanwhile, Ukraine’s government on Tuesday invited Lula to visit the country himself to “understand the real causes and essence of Russian aggression,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko. “The approach that puts the victim and the aggressor on the same scale and accuses countries that help Ukraine defend itself against deadly aggression of encouraging war is not in line with the real state of affairs,” said Nikolenko. SANCTIONS: Sanctions hawks in Europe are trying to get the ball rolling on a new package of EU measures against Russia. Poland and the Baltic states would like to see bans on imports of diamonds and to tighten export controls on dual-use goods, according to a discussion document by Poland and the Baltics that was sent to the European Commission Tuesday. Over the past year, the EU has imposed 10 rounds of sanctions on Russia in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Not that easy. But discussions over the last round of sanctions in February were fraught with difficulties, with EU countries descending into a bruising fight over the imports of synthetic tires. While preparations on the next round are underway, no date has been set yet for imposing them. Existing sanctions, such as on energy, have also dented Russia’s earnings but have failed to cripple its war of aggression. Reports show that Russia’s exports of crude oil have now surpassed pre-war volumes, with China and India as its main buyers. FOOD FIGHT: Poland struck a compromise Tuesday to let Ukrainian produce transit across its territory to other countries after it had slapped a ban on imports from Ukraine. The Polish ban, which was replicated by Hungary and Slovakia, came last Saturday in response to protests by farmers at a supply glut from Ukraine due to the war and the closing of the Black Sea export route. The restrictions, which had led to widespread condemnations from diplomats in EU capitals, were lifted after it was agreed Ukraine produce would transit through but not be sold in Poland. RUSSIAN COURT DISMISSES REPORTER’S APPEAL: A Moscow city court on Tuesday dismissed American journalist Evan Gershkovich’s appeal to be released from a high-security jail where he is being held on espionage charges. Gershkovich’s defense team had requested that the Wall Street Journal correspondent be transferred to house arrest, another jail or released on bail. FRENCH CORNER STEPPING OFF THE JET: French President Emmanuel Macron is hitting the pause button on his international travel, after an eventful past few weeks that took him to the Netherlands and China, where he made waves with these comments during an interview with POLITICO. Instead he is heading to the small French village of Muttersholtz today in eastern France to visit a wood company. On Thursday, he is again going local and will be visiting a school in southern France. Why it matters. The French president has been avoiding public appearances in France for weeks due to social unrest over his unpopular pensions reform. French demonstrators have been taking to the streets on a regular basis to protest the government’s decision to force through legislation raising the legal age of retirement from 62 to 64. Last Friday, France’s Constitutional Council ruled in favor of the bill, despite criticism from opposition parties. With parliamentary hurdles behind him, Macron is now trying to turn the page and reconnect with his fellow countrymen. Look, I’m sorry. This week, the president expressed brief regrets for the way things had been managed and the lack of consensus in a televised address on Monday evening. Macron now wants the French to move on and focus instead on his plans to improve vocational training, boosting French industries and health services in the country. It’s not going to be that easy. The French president faces rock-bottom popularity ratings and it’s expected he’ll struggle to give his second mandate a second wind. Protesters in France aren’t going home yet and trade unions are building up for a big showdown on May 1. Even trade unionists in the village of Muttersholtz are vowing to welcome him with the sound of drumming on pots and pans. DAMAGE CONTROL: A delegation of French MPs was in Taipei this week to meet Taiwanese officials in the wake of Macron’s controversial comments on how Europe should avoid getting dragged into a confrontation between the U.S. and China over Taiwan. Arriving in Taipei, the leading MP of the delegation, Eric Bothorel, who belongs to Macron’s Renaissance party, said “Paris’ stance in favor of the status quo in Taiwan straits has not changed.” He also delivered “messages” from the French president to the Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te, according to POLITICO Paris Playbook.
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