The French president was to receive, Friday, Jorge Rodriguez, the special envoy of the Venezuelan president, and Gerardo Blyde, spokesperson for the opposition.
by Marie Delcas ( Bogota, correspondent) and Philippe Ricard
France intends to play the intermediaries to try to unlock the political dialogue between the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and his political opponents. As part of the Paris Peace Forum, Emmanuel Macron was to receive, Friday, November 11, the special envoy of Mr. Maduro, Jorge Rodriguez, president of the National Assembly, and the opposition spokesman, Gerardo Blyde, in the presence of the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, and his Argentine counterpart, Alberto Fernandez.
The meeting is scheduled for the end of the afternoon, within the Palais Brongniart, where the fifth edition of this international conference inspired by the Elysée is held in order to reflect on global governance. The French president, explains his entourage, “tries to support the resumption of a dialogue to have political guarantees as soon as possible which will then lead to just and transparent elections”.
The meeting was preceded on Tuesday of an aside between Emmanuel Macron and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, in the corridors of the COP27 organized in Charm El-Cheikh, in Egypt. An exchange filmed by the Venezuelan channel Telesur and whose images were broadcast in loop by the country’s public televisions, leading Internet users to rejoice or annoy the diplomatic reversal of Paris. Mr. Macron gave Mr. Maduro the title of “president” when France has not recognized his controversial re -election, in 2018.
The question of whether he would soon visit Venezuela, in response to the invitation cordially launched by his counterpart, Emmanuel Macron did not respond. He said he wished to speak “a little longer” with him and “start a bilateral work useful for the country and the region”. Using the Caribbean “you”, Nicolas Maduro informed Mr. Macron that Jorge Rodriguez would attend the Paris meeting: “You can speak to him with confidence, with absolute confidence, I assure you.” “France must play a positive role, “concluded Nicolas Maduro, decidedly affable.
The conversation has not gone unnoticed. Necoizing the step in Washington, Paris had refused to recognize the legitimacy of the second mandate of Nicolas Maduro and recognized as the legitimate president of the country opponent Juan Guaido. The ambition was to force Nicolas Maduro to resign. France and the European Union then took a series of sanctions against personalities close to the regime. 2> “Political reconfiguration”
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