The key facts
- In correspondence from autumn 2024, Macron complained about boredom at the EU summit without Merkel and Draghi
- The messages were published in Françoise Degoa's book 'You Are All Too Harsh With Me' (out November 5)
- According to French media, the president's permission to publish the personal messages was not sought
What Macron's correspondence revealed
French President Emmanuel Macron admitted that he feels bored at meetings of European leaders without former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. This became known from his personal correspondence with journalist Françoise Degoa, fragments of which were published by Le Figaro. 'I am bored. Everything is sad and devoid of creative energy. I terribly miss Mario Draghi and Angela Merkel,' Macron wrote in the autumn of 2024 during the EU summit in Brussels. In the same message, he admitted that what was happening sometimes weighed on him, but assured that he never loses heart.
The book and the terms of publication
The correspondence is included in Degoa's book 'You Are All Too Harsh With Me,' which comes out on November 5. The journalist communicated with the French president on Telegram for two years: in the messages, Macron shared his opinions about political rivals, his own decisions, and life after leaving the Élysée Palace. According to French media, Degoa did not ask the president for permission to publish the personal messages. The same fragments of the correspondence are also cited by Gazeta.Ru with reference to Le Figaro,giving a close variant of the translation: 'I terribly miss Mario Draghi and Angela Merkel.'
Merkel's reciprocal affection
Notably, in November 2024 Merkel publicly acknowledged the reverse: after leaving politics, she missed her meetings with Macron,although she had no intention of returning to the post of chancellor. Thus, the mutual affection of the two leaders is confirmed from both sides — from Macron's side through the published correspondence, and from Merkel's side through her own public statement. The context around Merkel is supplemented by earlier reports from Gazeta.Ru: in October she stated that the next president of Germany should be a woman, noting that the post of federal president had never been held by a woman in 77 years, and in February Russia considered the possibility of her political comeback.
