Emmanuel Macron

Published on 08/01/2026 – 20:28 GMT+1
•Updated
20:33

France is set to reject the Mercosur deal in a vote among EU member states, after months of efforts by Paris to build a blocking minority against the contentious accord.

If, as signals suggest, Italy backs the agreement, it would represent a severe diplomatic defeat for Macron, whose strategy to derail the deal would collapse.

“France has decided to vote against the signing of the agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries,” Macron posted on X.

He said the “EU-Mercosur agreement is a deal from another era, negotiated for too long on outdated foundations,” adding that the economic benefits “would be limited for French and European growth.”

“It does not justify exposing sensitive agricultural sectors that are essential to our food sovereignty,” he wrote.

Paris failure to build a blocking minority

The Mercosur agreement was clinched in December 2024 by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, aiming to create a free-trade area of about 700 million people across the Atlantic after more than 25 years of negotiations.

France has opposed the deal at every phase, citing concerns about unfair competition from Latin American imports and under pressure domestically from its farmers.

Amid rising geoeconomic tensions, supporters led by Germany and Spain have pushed for a swift signing to open new export markets.

The signature was postponed following an EU summit last month after Italy and France expressed reservations. The Commission suggested these issues could be addressed and the signature would go ahead in January.

Paris intensified efforts in recent weeks to assemble a blocking minority, securing backing from Poland, Hungary, Ireland and possibly Austria. But Italy’s position remained decisive in the run-up to Friday’s vote at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels.

After a series of concessions from the European Commission, including strengthened safeguards to monitor market disruptions and early cash payments for farmers, Italy appears to have shifted toward the deal’s supporters.

If a qualified majority backs the agreement, it would mark the first time France has been outvoted at the Council, which represents member states in Brussels – another blow for Macron as he grapples with a deep political crisis at home.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L), French President Emmanuel Macron (C) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer take part in the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine during the Coalition of the Willing summit at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Tuesday. Facing questions from the British Parliament, Starmer said Wednesday lawmakers would have the ability to vote on such a deployment should a peace deal be signed. Photo courtesy Ukrainian President Office | License Photo

Jan. 7 (UPI) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday Parliament would be able to debate and vote on whether to deploy troops to Ukraine on a peacekeeping mission.

Speaking to members of Parliament, Starmer said any action involving British troops deploying to Ukraine would be “in accordance with our military plans” and require parliamentary approval.

On Tuesday, Starmer, along with French President Emmanuel Macron signed a trilateral agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, opening the door for the two countries to deploy troops to Ukraine after it signs a peace agreement with Russia.

Starmer told members of Parliament that the leaders “made real progress on security guarantees, which are vital for securing a just and lasting peace.”

“We will set out the details in a statement at the earliest opportunity. I will keep the house updated as the situation develops, and were troops to be deployed under the declaration signed, I would put that matter to the house for a vote.”

His comments were in response to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who questioned why Starmer hadn’t made a full statement to the House of Commons on the issue, The Guardian reported. She said she welcomed the prime minister’s efforts on peace in Ukraine, but she found it “astonishing” that he wasn’t making a full statement to lawmakers.

“No prime minister, Labour or Conservative, has failed to make a statement to the house in person after committing to the deployment of British troops,” she said. “His comments about making a statement in due course, quite frankly, are not good enough.”

Starmer responded that he wasn’t required to make a statement to Parliament because the agreement he signed Tuesday fell under previously existing military plans.

He also declined to specify how many British troops would be deployed should a peace deal be reached, the BBC reported.

Jan. 6 (UPI) — The leaders of the Britain, France and Ukraine signed a trilateral agreement Tuesday to pave the way for French and British forces to deploy to Ukraine after it signs a peace agreement to end the war with Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted about two dozen leaders from the “Coalition of the Willing” at a summit that aimed to secure Ukraine’s ongoing security once there is a cease-fire.

Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the agreement Tuesday evening.

“Following a cease-fire, the U.K. and France will establish military hubs across Ukraine,” Starmer said.

“The ‘Multinational Force for Ukraine’ will act as a reassurance force to bolster security guarantees and Ukraine’s ability to return to peace and stability by supporting the regeneration of Ukraine’s own forces,” Starmer said in a statement.

“The signing of the declaration paves the way for the legal framework to be established for French and U.K. forces to operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine’s skies and seas and building an armed forces fit for the future.”

Zelensky posted on X about the meeting.

“Military officials from France, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine worked in detail on force deployment, numbers, specific types of weapons, and the components of the Armed Forces required and able to operate effectively. We already have these necessary details. We understand which country is ready for what among all members of the Coalition of the Willing. I would like to thank every leader and every state that truly wishes to be part of a peaceful solution,” Zelensky said.

He also discussed the role of the United States in the post-war coalition.

“We had very substantive discussions with the American side on monitoring — to ensure there are no violations of peace. The United States is ready to work on this. One of the most critical elements is deterrence — the tools that will prevent any new Russian aggression. We see all of this,” he said.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said the talks led to “significant progress on several critical workstreams.”

“We agree with the Coalition that durable security guarantees and robust prosperity commitments are essential to a lasting peace in the Ukraine and we will continue to work together on this effort.”

He said talks will continue Tuesday night and Wednesday, and “we are hopeful to achieve additional positive momentum in the near future.”

The leaders of about 35 countries calling themselves the “Coalition of the Willing” met Tuesday afternoon in Paris to continue work on the joint statement released by European leaders after a summit in Berlin in December.

In his New Year’s speech, Macron said he expects “firm commitments” to be made in protecting Ukraine against Russian aggression after any cease-fire.

Zelensky recently met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida and said that the peace plan is about 90% agreed. But Russia hasn’t agreed to the plan since revisions were made.

Trump suggested there would be a security agreement for Ukraine and said “European nations are very much involved.”

“I feel that European nations have been really great, and they’re very much in line with this meeting and with getting a deal done. They are all terrific people,” Trump said.

The 10% that’s left in the plan is about territorial disputes. Kyiv hasn’t agreed to cede land.

Russia controls about 75% of the Donetsk region and 99% of Luhansk. Together, they are the industrial region of Donbas. Ukraine doesn’t want to let them go.

Causing anxiety in Europe is the recent invasion of Venezuela by the United States, as well as Trump’s threats to take over Greenland, which is part of NATO through Denmark.

Jan. 5 (UPI) — A Paris court found 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France’s first lady Brigitte Macron, wife of President Emmanuel Macron.

They were accused of spreading false claims about her gender and making “malicious remarks” about the 24-year age gap between the Macrons.

The false claims are from a 2017 conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron was a transgender woman. The allegation was amplified in the United States, pushed by right-wing media personality Candace Owens. The Macrons have also filed a lawsuit in the United States against Owens.

All but one of the defendants in France were given suspended sentences of up to eight months. The other person was jailed for not showing up to court. Some also had their social media accounts suspended.

The judge said the defendants acted with a clear desire to harm Brigitte Macron with comments that were degrading and insulting.

“The most important things are the prevention courses and the suspension of some of the accounts” of the perpetrators, Jean Ennochi, Brigitte Macron’s lawyer, said.

Two of the defendants had been found guilty of slander in 2024 for claiming that the first lady had never existed. Natacha Rey, a self-proclaimed journalist, and Amandine Roy, who claims to be a psychic, said Macron’s brother Jean-Michel Trogneux had changed gender and began using Brigitte Macron’s name.

Their convictions were overturned on appeal because claiming that she is transgender isn’t an “attack on her honor.”

The Macrons are appealing the ruling.

Brigitte Macron’s daughter Tiphaine Auzière, 41, told the court that the false claims had damaged her mother’s quality of life. She said Brigitte Macron worried every day about the clothes she wore and how she stood.

Auzière said the social media posts had caused a “deterioration of her health” and a “deterioration of her quality of life.”

“Not a day or week goes by when someone does not talk about this to her … What is very hard for her are the repercussions on her family … Her grandchildren hear what is being said: ‘Your grandmother is lying’ or ‘Your grandmother is your grandfather.’ This affects her a lot. She does not know how to stop it. … She’s not elected, she has not sought anything, and she is permanently subjected to these attacks. I — as a daughter, a woman and a mother — would not wish her life on anyone,” Auzière said.

Trogneux, 80, lives in Amiens, where he grew up with Brigitte Macron and their siblings.

Dec. 21 (UPI) — The head steward responsible for formal silverware has been arrested for stealing fine cutlery and porcelain from Élysée Palace, the official residence of French President Emmanuel Macron, reports said.

The man, identified by French media as Thomas M., is suspected of stealing more than a hundred pieces of porcelain used for state dinners and other banquets over the course of months, Le Parisien reported.

Authorities have also charged his romantic partner — an antique dealer — as well as an acquaintance from Versailles, both accused of receiving stolen goods, the newspaper reported. The three men, who have all reportedly confessed to their crimes, are expected to stand trial in February 2026.

“My client acknowledges the charges against him and has fully cooperated with the investigators,” Thomas Malvoti, the lawyer for the Versailles man, told French television network TF1.

“He is a 30-year-old man with an atypical profile, gifted, a history buff and passionate about the porcelain of the Sèvres Manufactory; he was even about to write a book on the subject. He unfortunately let himself be blinded by his passion and regrets it today.”

The items stolen include various porcelain dishes manufactured by the prestigious Sèvres factory, some of which were part of a 2018 order placed by the palace for around half a million dollars.

Authorities allege that the steward’s Versailles acquaintance convinced him to steal the tableware. After taking the dishes home, the steward allegedly falsified the official inventory of the objects.

The thefts went unnoticed for nearly two years, only coming to light once the number of missing items became large enough to trigger an alert from palace security.

A large number of the missing items were recovered from the home of the Versailles man, whom Le Parisien reported is an employee of the Louvre Museum.

The disclosure comes weeks after the Louvre reported a separate theft involving Napoleonic jewels worth some $102 million, underscoring renewed security concerns at French cultural institutions.

A French court has banned the Versailles man from continuing his work at the Louvre, Le Parisien reported. And the silverware steward resigned from his work at Élysée Palace last month.

The three suspects have agreed to return the rest of the stolen tableware, which is still in their possession.

High-profile thefts at museums and cultural sites have made headlines since the Louvre Museum heist in October, drawing international concern and attention to security practices.

Syria’s Culture Ministry said Friday that suspects had been arrested in connection with the theft of six Venus statues from the National Museum of Damascus, Urgent Matter reported. Syrian officials said they recovered surveillance footage after reactivating a monitoring system that the thieves assumed was not functioning.

The heightened attention to security has also led to criticism levied at authorities in cases like the recent theft of artifacts from the Bristol Museum’s British Empire and Commonwealth collection in Britain.

That theft occurred on Sept. 25, but police did not publish photos of the suspects or release information about the theft until Dec. 11.

Dec. 15 (UPI) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz were set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. officials in Berlin on Monday in an effort to reach a consensus on what any peace deal with Russia should look like.

The European leaders, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has yet to confirm his attendance, will seek to negotiate an alternative to the U.S.-Russia plan currently on the table with a stronger deal for Ukraine with better protections for its security.

The talks will also attempt to keep afloat an EU-brokered agreement to loan Ukraine some of the $246.7 billion of Russia’s assets frozen in European banks and other institutions to help it defend itself and take “forward peace talks from a position of strength,” amid mounting opposition to the plan.

The meeting follows five hours of talks on Sunday between Zelensky and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, at the Federal Chancellery that Witkoff said were productive and would resume on Monday.

“Representatives held in-depth discussions regarding the 20-point plan for peace, economic agendas, and more. A lot of progress was made, and they will meet again tomorrow morning,” Witkoff posted on X on Sunday evening.

Zelensky was reported to have dropped demands for NATO membership, if it was what was required to end the war, in exchange for a bilateral defense agreement with the United States similar to an Article 5-like guarantee, along with other guarantees from Ukraine’s European partners.

Article 5 is a cast-iron guarantee, a collective defense principle enshrined in NATO’s constitution under which an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all members and triggers an obligation for each member to come to its defense.

Following the initial discussions on Monday, Merz’s spokesman confirmed the group would be widened to include “numerous European heads of state and government, as well as the leaders of the EU and NATO.”

The diplomatic focus will shift to Brussels on Thursday when the leaders of all 27 EU nations converge on the Belgian capital for a meeting of the European Council with Ukraine and European security topping the agenda.

Council President Antonio Costa said the summit would address how best to continue defending Europe’s interests and how to “strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating position,” a key element of which necessitated “increased pressure on Russia.”

Costa said that having already committed to providing for Ukraine’s urgent financial needs for 2026-2027, including funding for its military and defense, it was now time to decide how to implement it and that leaders must keep talking on Thursday until an agreement was reached.

Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled two options — both controversial — to provide Ukraine with $105.8 billion of the $158.6 it is estimated it will need in the two years through 2027 to keep the country running and being able to continue fighting Russia.

The so-called “reparations loan” option involving using frozen Russian assets only requires a two-thirds majority of EU states to vote for it. The second option under which the EU would use its budget to go borrow on the international capital markets is more problematic because it could be blocked by a single state.

Hungary and Slovakia have indicated they are opposed to either route, while Belgium, home to Euroclear, the clearing house where the majority of Russia’s frozen assets are held, has expressed strong worries that it could be taken to court by Russia were the frozen assets tapped or that it may scare off foreign investors.

Russia has protested that appropriating its assets amounts to theft but the EU says that is not the case because there was nothing to preclude Russia from reclaiming the funds in future — after it has paid war reparations to Ukraine.

Ukraine is set to run out of money early in the New Year.