French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the Normandy Four summit in order to improve his image abroad as he faces criticism and public pressure on the domestic front, French member of the European Parliament, Thierry Mariani told Sputnik on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2019) French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the Normandy Four summit in order to improve his image abroad as he faces criticism and public pressure on the domestic front, French member of the European Parliament, Thierry Mariani told Sputnik on Tuesday.The first Normandy Four (France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine) summit in three years on the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine ended in Paris early on Tuesday.
"If you read French newspapers today, you will see that no one in France cares about this meeting. People are angry and the whole country is a complete mess right now because of strikes. However, in this situation, Macron benefits from holding this meeting as he is in need to improve his image abroad to sustain pressure inside the country. Besides, he does it without the United States and it is a message to Washington. It is also in good tradition of the French politics to mediate conflicts," Mariani said.
When summing up the results of Monday's summit in Paris, Mariani also underlined its importance praising the Normandy Four leaders for confirming their commitment to the full implementation of the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.
"This meeting is very important and it was successful. It was a first meeting since a long time. I hope people of Donetsk and Luhansk regions will be the ones who benefit from it," he added.
A nationwide protests are underway throughout France with people expressing discontent over Macron's proposed pension overhaul. The protests are expected to paralyze Paris later on Tuesday as continued strikes grip the city's transportation system. Over 800,000 people protested around France on Thursday.
