Elections in France: “In the current global context, Latin America can be one of our best allies”

Few political careers must have had a stranger start than that of Eleonore Carot (37). Is that the French-Dominican lawyer who recently passed by Argentina as part of his campaign to be deputy in France for the French community of Latin America and the Caribbean has already won his seat once in June 2022 . However, in January of this year that election was canceled due to “technical problems”and new elections are to be held in April.

“It is important to clarify that the election was canceled by the Constituent Convention of France due to technical failures related to electronic voting. It becomes clear that it was for that reason, and there was no suspicion of wrongdoing”, explains Caroit in an interview with Clarín during a break in the schedule of activities he had in Buenos Aires.

Caroit is the candidate of Renaissance, the party of current president Emmanuel Macron. In the canceled election he got 57.42% of the vote, and will now run again in the election, in which it will be possible to vote electronically between 24 and 29 March, and in person on Saturday 1 April. In the event of a runoff, e-voting will take place between 7 and 12 April and face-to-face voting on 15 April.

alliance

During the seven months that she held the position of deputy in the French National Assembly (ANF), Caroit was Vice-President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly. From that place, she states that he is known as Latin America is gaining a prominent place growing for France.

“France must understand that, in the current geopolitical conditions brought about by the war in Ukraine, Latin America can be one of your best allies. There is a great history of bonding between France and the region and, as an MEP, my goal is to strengthen that bond,” Caroit explains, noting that she sees opportunities for cooperation in the field of sustainable production and conservation of the environment.

“There are many interesting projects in the region to produce energy and food in a more environmentally friendly way. There is also the potential to generate agreements to protect the oceans. Several countries in the region, such as Peru and Chile, have adopted measures in this field and France is also trying to position itself in this sense”, explains Caroit.

Connections

Caroit, what was born in Paris and raised in the Dominican Republicrecognizes that France has not always been able to recognize the importance of the region.

“For historical reasons, French foreign policy has always tended to favor ties with African countries. And although France has always valued Latin America, I think it has never finished valuing the possibilities and strategic importance of the region. During the Macron government, due to the issue of the pandemic and other global crises, the relationship was even more distant ”, he explains.

In this sense, Caroit indicates an advantage that the relationship between Latin America and France has.

“France’s relationship with its former colonies has not always been easy. It’s a complex link, and I think efforts are currently being made to try and heal those wounds. The advantage over Latin America is that, with few exceptions, France has no colonial history in the region. Faced with the manipulation that the far right makes of the issue of migrants, the perspective of French emigration to this region and the history of their presence can serve to take another look at the issue.