John Leicester, Associated Press Updated 10:48 am CDT, Friday, August 23, 2019
PARIS (AP) In a sharp escalation of tensions over fires ravaging the Amazon, France on Friday accused Brazil's president of having lied to French leader Emmanuel Macron and threatened to block a European Union trade deal with South American states including Brazil.
The specter of possible economic repercussions for Brazil and its South American neighbors starkly illustrated how the Amazon is becoming a battleground between Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and increasingly critical Western governments alarmed that vast swathes of the rainforest are going up in smoke under his watch.
Having won support from other governments, but infuriated Bolsonaro, by putting the Amazon wildfires on the radar of world leaders gathering for a Group of Seven summit in France, Macron then further upped the stakes and the pressure with a bluntly-worded statement from his office Friday that took direct aim at Bolsonaro's trustworthiness.
"In light of Brazil's attitude these recent weeks," the statement said, Macron "can only conclude that President Bolsonaro lied to him during the Osaka Summit" in June where governments agreed on the "urgent need" to tackle climate change, pollution and environmental destruction.
"The decisions and statements from Brazil these recent weeks show clearly that President Bolsonaro has decided to not respect his commitments on the climate, nor to involve himself on the issue of biodiversity."
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https://www.chron.com/news/article/France-s-Macron-soccer-stars-unite-against-14372558.php