And once again Canvas shows that it has a nose for good French documentaries:the Belgian channel broadcast on Sunday _Un president, l ‘Europe et la guerre_which follows President Macron during the six-month French presidency of theEuropean Union this year. On day 55 of Macron’s Europe service, Russia invadedUkraine. Filmmaker Guy Lagache got to witness a historic period of politicaldiplomacy behind the scenes.
Intelligent minds, brains that work overtime, permanent stress: an atmospherelike in the sizzling hit series The West Wing. But then really.
Because of its unprecedented openness, the documentary will keep you on theedge of your seat. As a viewer, you can even listen in to a telephoneconversation between Macron and Putin just before the invasion, in which theFrench president addresses his Russian colleague as a strict friend.”Vladimir, I don’t know where your lawyer went to school,” he snaps, arguingwith Putin about the interpretation of a treaty text. When Macron tries tomake him promise to talk to Biden, Putin reports that he is almost good-natured in the sports hall for a game of ice hockey and cannot say anythingconcrete about a date.
“He always lies,” the French chief diplomat, Emmanuel Bonne, who listens in,summarizes it bitterly.
Image from the documentary ‘Un president, l’Europe et la guerre’.Image Stillfrom TV
You’ll also hear Macron talking to Boris Johnson, Mario Draghi and Olaf Scholzabout what Putin is doing. And with Volodimir Zelenski, where both mensometimes speak English and you can feel the atmosphere. Chilling is themoment when Zelensky reports on the first bloody acts of war, and Macron seemsto want to say: we are coming now to help you.
The one who didn’t know anything was Putin
Accompanying texts show that most European leaders were aware that Macron wasbeing filmed and authorized the clips in which they themselves appear. The onewho knew nothing about it was Putin. The Russian news agency Ria Novostitherefore tweeted angrily that the French no longer respect the diplomaticrules of negotiations. Macron and his associates have no doubt reasoned thatnot respecting the sovereign rights of a democratic neighbor is a much biggerfaux pas.
You must have a strong stomach if you end up on the world stage as a diplomator politician and realize that your approach can determine whether or not DeBom will fall. But I also thought: there are probably more parallels with howa power struggle is fought in, for example, the pigeon fanciers’ associationthan you think. It is the universal set of instruments, talking, massaging,conferring, making alliances, threatening, being strict and hoping that no onereally throws the bat in the henhouse.
I was pleased to see in this film how well the diplomatic leaders of Germanyand France get along.
The intense documentary contrasted sharply with the first episode of thelight-hearted youth series Timmyland that same Sunday, in which Tim denBesten pretends to become a dictator, in order to show how important democracyis. Please let a little smart teenager go too Un president, l ‘Europe et laguerre look, about what happens when someone is a real dictator.
_Renate van der Bas and Maaike Bos write columns about television five times a