BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine President Javier Milei and French President Emmanuel Macron met Friday in Paris where they appeared to put aside recent controversy stemming from their countries' fierce soccer rivalry.
The meeting comes after showing the Argentine national soccer team’s post-match racist chants, over lyrics considered offensive toward French players of African descent.
The song originated from fans' chants ahead of in Qatar, and resurfaced after the Argentina team's .
Exacerbating matters, Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel rushed to the defense of the Argentina players recorded singing the derogatory chants and publicly lambasted the French government as hypocritical for its criticism of Argentina.
The Argentine presidency said that Macron expressed gratitude Friday for efforts by Milei's sister and general secretary of the presidency, Karina Milei, to defuse the diplomatic crisis by apologizing at the French embassy for Villarruel's remarks.
Macron thanked Karina Milei "directly and especially for her words,” the Argentine presidency said. The French government did not immediately provide its own read-out of the leaders' meeting.
Milei’s office seemed eager to show that the leaders had moved past the crisis, saying their talks Friday ahead of the Olympics opening reflected the "excellent state of the relationship between France and Argentina and, more specifically, between both presidents.” The talks ranged from Argentina's attempts to secure another cash to Sunday's , the statement said.
Milei's office also said that Macron congratulated him for his market-oriented reforms that have succeeded in t. The reforms also have pummeled Argentines struggling to cope .
