Statement to the press by Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, following the European Union Foreign Affairs Council (Paris, 18 May 2021) Share
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Foreign Affairs Council meeting is not over, but given diary constraints, as I need to join the President of the Republic at the Conference on the Financing of African Economies, I would still like to seize this opportunity to talk to you. The President may come back to this subject when he talks to the press later.
What I really want to say is both a personal and a political belief. What is happening – these moments of great violence – shows that the idea that some entertained for a while, that we could simply ignore the conflict in the Middle East and that it would go away on its own, on the basis that things would sort themselves out with time if we pretended to forget they existed, is disappearing. It was a fancy of the mind and, on the contrary, reality is returning, violently.
Madagascar – Visit by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (13 May 2021) Share
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of State for Tourism, French Nationals Abroad and Francophonie, arrived in Madagascar on May 13 to help launch the vaccination campaign for the French community (more than 15,000 officially registered) and other Europeans who meet current French eligibility criteria. On this occasion, he inaugurated the vaccination center set up by the French Embassy in Antananarivo. A 6,000-dose lot was delivered there.
The minister was hosted by Madagascar’s President, Andry Rajoelina, and he met with Foreign Minister Djacoba Liva Tehindrazanarivelo. Mr. Lemoyne reiterated our solidarity in the face of the health crisis and explained our procedure for vaccinating the French and European communities. He reaffirmed our desire to strengthen bilateral relations. He also recalled the priorities of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)’s French Presidency, which will begin on May 20.