Macron revitalizes France-Brazil ties with highly memed Lula visit

Images from the French president’s three-day visit to Brazil to reaffirm the partnership between the two countries delight internet spectators

If the official photos are any indication, Emmanuel Macron’s three-day visit to Brazil has resembled more of a romantic escapade than a diplomatic mission. The French president concluded his tour of the South American nation on Thursday with a state visit to the capital, Brasília. Online hilarity ensued after photos were published showing Macron being unusually friendly with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Macron, 46, commenced his visit on Tuesday in Belém, the Amazonian city set to host the Cop30 climate conference next year, as well as the nearby Combu island.

In a photo shared on 78-year-old Lula’s social media platforms, the two smiling heads of state are depicted clasping hands on a boat, gazing out at the Guamá River. In another image, they appear to be joyfully walking under the Amazon canopy.

Internet users with quick wit likened the images to engagement photoshoots or scenes from a romantic comedy.

“Lula and Macron are having a pre-wedding photoshoot; they’ll tie the knot in the Amazon and honeymoon in Paris,” one user joked.

“I can already envision the new Macron/Lula family Christmas card,” tweeted Ian Bremmer, founder of the political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.

Memes shared online showed the former investment banker and former union leader holding heart-shaped balloons.

Macron’s visit, his first as president, signifies a reinvigoration of the Franco-Brazilian partnership after relations deteriorated under Lula’s far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who opposed France’s stance on Amazon deforestation.

Earlier this week, Lula and Macron emphasized their common environmental goals while unveiling a €1 billion (£855 million) investment plan to safeguard the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and French Guiana.

They also commemorated their collaboration on defense technology during the unveiling of a diesel-powered submarine, constructed in Brazil with French technology, near Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

“We are inaugurating a new chapter in our relationship today,” Macron stated on Thursday during a joint press conference that followed a private bilateral meeting and the signing of more than 20 cooperation agreements.

Addressing reporters, the two leaders underscored their commitment to collaborating on combating poverty, addressing the climate crisis, and global taxation at the upcoming G20 leaders’ summit in Rio later this year. Macron also praised their aligned stance on the forthcoming elections in Venezuela and the situation in Haiti.

However, they avoided discussing topics where their views diverge, particularly concerning the conflict in Ukraine and the fate of a trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc. Speaking to business executives in São Paulo on Wednesday, Macron criticized the agreement Brazil has indicated it is prepared to ratify as “very bad.”

On Thursday evening, Macron addressed social media users on X. “Some have likened the images from my visit to Brazil to those of a wedding,” Macron wrote. “I tell them it was indeed one. France adores Brazil, and Brazil adores France,” he remarked.