Jean-Yves Le Drian: "My great fear is that the next world would look like the world before, only worse”

The French Minister of Foreign Affairs notes — with the coronavirus pandemic — "an amplification of the fractures which are undermining the international order".

Whether democratic or authoritarian, all regimes are shaken by the Covid-19 pandemic. The trend of reinforcing sovereignty and raising controversy about the health crisis is difficult to overcome. As an unprecedented summit by video-conference of the countries of the UN Security Council (known as "P5") is looming, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian answered questions from Le Monde by telephone.

Chinese Ambassador Lu Shaye has been summoned to the Quay of Orsay due to his published opinions deemed inadmissible, on the Western response to Covid-19. Is this an isolated case or an illustration of a more aggressive escalation in Chinese diplomacy?

Since the start of the pandemic crisis, I have met four times with my Chinese colleague. We have relationships of dialogue and cooperation, which lead us to say what we think. We have principles.I cannot accept that the staff of our nursing homes is slandered by anyone, including by the Chinese Embassy [who accused the French nursing staff of establishments for dependent elderly people of having abandoned their post]. I made it known.

In the hours that followed, a statement by the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs cleared up any misunderstanding, emphasising the need to work together in a new multilateralism. We intend to be respected as China wants to be respected.
Is Beijing trying to take the place occupied by Washington in the concert of powers?

I read and hear that the world after will have nothing to do with the world before. I share this wish, but it’s about prediction. My fear is that the next world would look furiously like the world before, only worse.

It seems to me that we are witnessing a widening of the fractures that have plagued the international order for years. The pandemic is the continuation, by other means, of the struggle between powers. First of all, it is the already old questioning of multilateralism. Major players are withdrawing, as illustrated by the American decision to suspend its contribution to the World Health Organization [WHO], when it is the only universal organization capable of fighting the pandemic. Others are engulfed in the breaches.

This struggle is also the systematisation of the balance of power that we saw rising long before, with the exacerbation of the Sino-American rivalry. Finally, it is the extension of international competition, even of confrontation, to all sectors. This continues in the information field in this crisis. I am thinking of what are called "infodemics" and of the political terrain in which we try to compare crisis management models.

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https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/04/20/jean-yves-le-dri...

Translation by Jules Letambour.