On Top Form, Macron Projects France, Europe as Reliable Partners for South-east Asia

His goal is to convince leaders that old French slogans have new and practical meanings

- Jonathan Eyal

BRUSSELS - Few leaders of major Western countries would contemplate devoting an entire week to touring South-east Asia, not because the region is unimportant but more because of other pressing commitments at home.

Yet French President Emmanuel Macron has done precisely that.

He began his three-nation South-east Asian tour in Vietnam on May 25, went on to Indonesia on May 28 and is delivering the keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 30. By the time he returns to Paris, a whole week would have passed.

This is undoubtedly an impressive display of French diplomacy, a powerful opportunity to defend France's positions on the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as the country's strategy for the Indo-Pacific.

Everywhere Mr Macron went, his top officials tried to convince the local media that the tour is designed to present France and Europe — on behalf of which Mr Macron often claims to talk — as both uniquely reliable and understanding partners, unlike the US or China, which are vying for top influence in the region.

Yet, in reality, all French presidents since General Charles de Gaulle, who founded the current Constitution of the Fifth Republic back in 1958, have argued that they were charting a "middle road" approach between superpowers by offering "no strings attached" partnerships, as the Reuters news agency, quoting briefings from French ministers, put it this week.

So the real challenge for Mr Macron during his latest tour of South-east Asia is to persuade his hosts that such old French slogans have new and practical meanings.

On this, Mr Macron appears to have scored well.