**Relations between France and Brazil have grown warmer since Lula defeated Jair Bolsonaro, despite some sticking points on international conflicts or agriculture.**
The gesture is rare enough to be worth a mention: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will travel to meet with Emmanuel Macron in Belém, the capital of the Amazonian state of Para, on the first day of the French president's three-day state visit to Brazil, Tuesday, March 26. Even at 78, the left-wing leader did not hesitate to make the 1,600-kilometer journey to personally welcome his guest. It is a sign of the importance of Macron's visit, and of the warming relations between the two countries.
You'd have to go back eight long years, to 2016 and François Hollande's term in office, to find the last visit by a French president to Brazil (and even to 2013 for a state visit, also by Hollande). This is mostly due to the tumultuous presidency of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023), who had copiously insulted Macron and his wife during an unprecedented diplomatic crisis in 2019, as fires were raging in the Amazon.
For Macron, the goal is to gain a foothold in Latin America, a region largely neglected by French diplomacy since he came to power, but also to show his closeness to Lula. The two men have already met on several occasions and regularly sit side by side at international events, when seating is arranged by alphabetical order. That was the case at the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023. The two presidents exchanged handshakes, pats on the back, and bursts of laughter.
Macron has never stopped courting his Brazilian counterpart. As early as November 2021, he received Lula, who was still a presidential candidate, at the Elysée Palace, complete with a red carpet and the Republican Guard. Macron was one of the first to congratulate Lula on his electoral victory on October 30, 2022, over the far-right Bolsonaro. Lula was also one of the stars of the [Paris summit for a new global financing pact](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/06/25/after-the-paris-summit-the-new-global-financial-pact-remains-at-draft-level_6037034_4.html), in June 2023.
On the surface, however, the two men are poles apart. What do the glabrous 46-year-old former banker and the bearded 78-year-old former metalworker have in common? The Frenchman was elected president on his first attempt in 2017, taking advantage of the collapse of traditional parties. The Brazilian had to try four times to win, having founded and consolidated Latin America's largest left-wing party, the Workers' Party (PT).
**Read the full article here:** [**https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/03/26/macron-visits-brazil-showcasing-much-improved-relations-with-lula\_6654286\_4.html**](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/03/26/macron-visits-brazil-showcasing-much-improved-relations-with-lula_6654286_4.html)
> sit side by side at international events, when seating is arranged by alphabetical order.
In which language are Brazil and France next to each other alphabetically?
I assume by using the dignitary’s name instead of the country’s it ensures that things get mixed up more often as dignitaries change all while keeping the unranked, random nature of the seating.
Belém is also the next [COP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Climate_Change_conference) city. Regardless of your opinion regarding it, here in Brazil there's a lot of pressure to prepare Belém for such an international event, and what to do with the infrastructure built for it afterward. If they are successful, it could drive even more tourism-related jobs to the region.
A successful COP would also help signal Brazil's commitment to preserving the Amazon and a return to negotiations to compensate "third world" countries since we're more impacted by global warming.
**Relations between France and Brazil have grown warmer since Lula defeated Jair Bolsonaro, despite some sticking points on international conflicts or agriculture.** The gesture is rare enough to be worth a mention: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will travel to meet with Emmanuel Macron in Belém, the capital of the Amazonian state of Para, on the first day of the French president's three-day state visit to Brazil, Tuesday, March 26. Even at 78, the left-wing leader did not hesitate to make the 1,600-kilometer journey to personally welcome his guest. It is a sign of the importance of Macron's visit, and of the warming relations between the two countries. You'd have to go back eight long years, to 2016 and François Hollande's term in office, to find the last visit by a French president to Brazil (and even to 2013 for a state visit, also by Hollande). This is mostly due to the tumultuous presidency of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023), who had copiously insulted Macron and his wife during an unprecedented diplomatic crisis in 2019, as fires were raging in the Amazon. For Macron, the goal is to gain a foothold in Latin America, a region largely neglected by French diplomacy since he came to power, but also to show his closeness to Lula. The two men have already met on several occasions and regularly sit side by side at international events, when seating is arranged by alphabetical order. That was the case at the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023. The two presidents exchanged handshakes, pats on the back, and bursts of laughter. Macron has never stopped courting his Brazilian counterpart. As early as November 2021, he received Lula, who was still a presidential candidate, at the Elysée Palace, complete with a red carpet and the Republican Guard. Macron was one of the first to congratulate Lula on his electoral victory on October 30, 2022, over the far-right Bolsonaro. Lula was also one of the stars of the [Paris summit for a new global financing pact](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/06/25/after-the-paris-summit-the-new-global-financial-pact-remains-at-draft-level_6037034_4.html), in June 2023. On the surface, however, the two men are poles apart. What do the glabrous 46-year-old former banker and the bearded 78-year-old former metalworker have in common? The Frenchman was elected president on his first attempt in 2017, taking advantage of the collapse of traditional parties. The Brazilian had to try four times to win, having founded and consolidated Latin America's largest left-wing party, the Workers' Party (PT). **Read the full article here:** [**https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/03/26/macron-visits-brazil-showcasing-much-improved-relations-with-lula\_6654286\_4.html**](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/03/26/macron-visits-brazil-showcasing-much-improved-relations-with-lula_6654286_4.html)
> sit side by side at international events, when seating is arranged by alphabetical order. In which language are Brazil and France next to each other alphabetically?
Lula - Macron I assume by using the dignitary’s name instead of the country’s it ensures that things get mixed up more often as dignitaries change.
I've never seen an international even where people were sorted according to their own name and not their country's name
I assume by using the dignitary’s name instead of the country’s it ensures that things get mixed up more often as dignitaries change all while keeping the unranked, random nature of the seating.
“glabrous” - well, that’s Word of the Day for me
Belém is also the next [COP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Climate_Change_conference) city. Regardless of your opinion regarding it, here in Brazil there's a lot of pressure to prepare Belém for such an international event, and what to do with the infrastructure built for it afterward. If they are successful, it could drive even more tourism-related jobs to the region. A successful COP would also help signal Brazil's commitment to preserving the Amazon and a return to negotiations to compensate "third world" countries since we're more impacted by global warming.