Emmanuel Macron said he was “very happy” to welcome Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan to these Hautes-Pyrénées which “are so dear” to him. The French president organized a “personal” getaway with his Chinese counterpart in the Pyrenees on Tuesday, on the second day of the Chinese president’s state visit, which he is receiving for the first time since 2019. The opportunity for dialogue more direct on the war in Ukraine or trade disagreements. A look back at this day of gifts, snow and good food.
Tutoriality and familiarity
The president had chosen a place where he has personal ties, the Col du Tourmalet, a legendary climb of the Tour de France, to welcome the Chinese presidential couple with his wife.
The French president is at home here. And he is cheerful, and inexhaustible. Known for being easy to use informally, he ignores all formalism, even if it means fueling criticism from those who accuse him of rolling out the red carpet under the feet of a “dictator”.
Diplomatic seduction operation
This was the idea of this trip, on the second day of the state visit to France by the number one of the Asian superpower: to break the imposing protocol for a personal reunion supposed to make it possible to overcome misunderstandings.
Those around him theorize this search for “intimacy” to obtain a “friendly but also very frank” dialogue and go further on thorny subjects like Ukraine. Xi Jinping supported an “Olympic truce” this summer, also pushed by Emmanuel Macron.
But Paris, which has insisted for a year that Beijing puts pressure on Russia to help end the war, wants to be “lucid” about the limited chances of a rapid breakthrough. Especially since the Chinese president remains the main ally of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, whom he is due to receive soon.
Shower of gifts
To get the message across, there’s nothing better than small gifts with strong symbolic messages. First, as a birthday present for the mother of the Chinese head of state, a wool blanket from the Pyrenees.
Then a Pyrenean beret, an Armagnac, a Cornas 2008 red wine are unwrapped, the year of the Beijing Games, while Paris is preparing to receive its own. A yellow jersey from the Tour de France too, of which the Tourmalet is a legendary climb. “We would be delighted to have Chinese runners,” tries Emmanuel Macron.
Between snow and fog
The Elysée was hoping for a little stroll between the presidential couples in a magnificent landscape. But the weather played tricks on him: at the Col du Tourmalet, at more than 2,000 meters, late snow fell heavily and the fog reduced visibility to zero.
So much for the breathtaking view of the massif around the Pic du Midi. After a little folk dance from the Les Pastourelles de Campan troupe, in traditional dress and to the sound of the three-hole flute and the diatonic accordion, Emmanuel Macron ushers his guests into L’Etape du Berger, a mountain restaurant held by his friend Eric Abadie. “We’ve known each other for 35 years! », he says, pointing to the pig and sheep breeder.
Personal confidence around cheese
Tasting session afterwards: local charcuterie, cheeses from different regions of France. Family photo of the presidential couples. “We surround the black pork of Bigorre,” laughs the French head of state, decidedly verbose about local products.
Xi Jinping promises to advertise local ham before saying he “loves cheese a lot”. The face will remain impassive behind its immutable frozen smile. Lunch starts very late, around 3 p.m. The two couples, and the performers only.
On the way back, Emmanuel Macron will make a brief stop in Montgaillard, where his beloved grandmother, “Manette”, who died in 2013 rests. “It is also through sharing our personal stories that our relationships take shape,” he estimates on X.