Mayalène Trémolet / Photo credit: CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP
Holidays are not always synonymous with rest for the Head of State. At his vacation spot, Emmanuel Macron continues to lead the country and make decisions in the face of crises. Last announcement: the evacuation from Niger of French nationals who wanted it, last week.
“Creating Personal Relationships”
Because at Fort Brégançon, the president deals with the crises that arise in the summer, such as Afghanistan in August 2021 or the putsch in Niger at this very moment. “The fort is used as a diplomatic tool. Receiving a head of state in Brégançon is not the same as receiving him at the Élysée”, explains at the microphone of Europe 1, Guillaume Daret, author of the book The Fort of Brégançon, History, secrets and behind the scenes of the presidential holidays.
“It also makes it possible to create personal relationships which can have an important role when it is necessary to resolve a crisis, to make a phone call, to ask for help from a country for the evacuation of French people. That, all the heads of State and their relatives told me so,” continues the journalist and writer.
A particularly safe residence
The place lends itself particularly well to these meetings in terms of security. Surrounded by water, the residence is a fortress that is difficult to access. In 2008, Nicolas Sarkozy set up mediation between Russia and Georgia. He receives on this occasion Condoleezza Rice, at the time, American Secretary of State.
For his part, Emmanuel Macron invites Vladimir Putin in 2019, the year in which Russia is excluded from the G20. A year earlier, it was still from the fort that the Head of State had convinced the Maltese Prime Minister to welcome the 629 migrants aboard the Aquarius in distress in the middle of the Mediterranean.