French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna confirmed Tuesday that President Macron is interested in attending the Johannesburg BRICS summit as an observer at the upcoming meeting of the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
"He is on a limb and what it shows is there is a fracture in the G7 and Western-led alliance and each of them including France, Germany…and other nations are looking forward to escape. In any case, the idea that France is knocking at the door to attend the BRICS summit is very important," Kouakou said.
As the world changes, BRICS is becoming more and more important globally, Kouakou observed. The bloc accounts for over 40% of global GDP and more than a half of the world's population. At least a dozen regional heavyweights representing the Arab world and the Global South have announced bids to join the five-nation group, which Kouakou said is united by its vision of a multipolar world, as opposed to the US-promoted "rules-based order."
The expert said Macron wants to see for himself where the BRICS is going, but added that it would be difficult for Paris to break free from Washington's dominance. Macron sparked anger in the US in April when he said during a trip to Beijing that Europe should not be a US "vassal" in Washington's standoff with China and suggested that many Europeans saw the need for strategic autonomy.
"They want to see where the world is going, who are the players and they are doing their homework, they want to come physically to see these people and know them, but their presence is going to send a strong signal across the board that France is interested in the direction that the world was taking and is trying to position itself to really take advantage of this shift, if there is interest," Kouakou said.
Macron's proposal has been met with a mixed reaction from BRICS, with South African International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor calling the idea a departure from ordinary practice. She said President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current BRICS chair, would be the one making the decision on whether the French president will attend. Russia has argued that Macron's participation would be "inappropriate," given Paris’ hostile policy toward Moscow.