After initial praise for Maduro's fall drew left-wing backlash, French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday distanced France from the US military operation, calling it unsupported while reiterating support for a democratic transition.
Building on Macron's initial reaction and the subsequent protests by the French left (covered in prior articles in this series), President Emmanuel Macron shifted tone during Monday's Council of Ministers. 'The method employed is neither supported nor approved by France. We defend international law and the freedom of peoples,' he stated, per spokesperson Maud Bregeon.
Macron maintained his view of Maduro as a 'dictator' who 'confiscated his people's freedom and stole the 2024 elections,' endorsing a leading role for opposition winner Edmundo González Urrutia, already recognized by Paris. This followed Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot's condemnation of the operation as violating international law, coordinated with the Élysée.
The about-face underscores French diplomatic strains amid Donald Trump's assertive foreign policy, echoing François Mitterrand's 1989 veto of a UN condemnation of the US Panama invasion. Former chief of staff General Pierre de Villiers highlighted France's military limitations, unable to replicate such an action. National Rally leader Marine Le Pen seized the moment to affirm state sovereignty as 'inviolable and sacred.'
Paralyzed European allies fear further escalation, as Trump eyes Greenland. France urges respect for Venezuelan sovereignty during the transition.
