Milei in Paris for Argentina Week, OECD speech and meeting with Macron

Argentine President Javier Milei began a four-day visit to France on Wednesday by opening Argentina Week, an event to promote investment opportunities in Argentina that runs until 2 October. 1 On Thursday he was scheduled to address the OECD in Paris and meet French President Emmanuel Macron. 1 Macron received Milei at the Elysee Palace on Thursday for a 40-minute bilateral meeting, followed by a meeting between governors, business leaders and the Argentine delegation and their French counterparts. 2

Citing sources speaking to the Argentine daily La Nacion, Anadolu reported that the talks centred on investments announced by French firms in Argentina, artificial intelligence and Milei's economic adjustment plans; sources from the Argentine delegation also mentioned announcements by French companies, especially on energy. 2 Milei's pitch is a "new Argentina" policy open to foreign capital, promising tax benefits over 30 years for projects of more than €200 million, with particular openness to mining and oil; Argentina has modified glacier protection laws to ease exploitation of copper, gold and lithium. 1 His delegation includes economy minister Luis Caputo, deregulation minister Federico Struznegger, a dozen governors, the head of oil company YPF and the president of an agro-industry employers' association; French business leaders attending include the heads of Total, Eramet and Danone. 1

RFI says France is the 7th largest investor in Argentina, with a more than 63 percent rise in projects in 2024. 1 The trip comes amid an economic slowdown: RFI reports GDP fell 0.6 percent in the second quarter, unemployment rose to 7.9 percent, and some 30,000 companies have closed since Milei took office, though he has produced a budget surplus and cut annual inflation to 35 percent from triple digits. 1 Political scientist Federico Zapata told AFP that new investment announcements would hardly matter before the October 2027 election but would help Milei's narrative; RFI says his disapproval rating is around 55-60 percent. 1

Ahead of the trip Milei told LCI that Europe was dragged down by a "perverse welfare state" and was a "slave" to regulation, immigration and "woke" thinking, while saying he has "an excellent relationship" with Macron. 1 The visit drew criticism: French journalists' unions called it "an insult to press freedom", and Franceinfo, cited by Anadolu, reported criticism from some Argentines, human rights activists, environmental campaigners and trade unions. 1 2 On Friday Milei is expected to receive an award from the Paris Economic Forum. 2 1