The new French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barro, son of a European Commissioner and a convinced European
41-year-old Jean-Noel Barro is France's new number one diplomat.
Before taking this post, he was Minister for Europe and Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly of France. Now Barro will have to prove himself on the field, if he wants the voice of France to be heard around the world.
As the son of former minister and European Commissioner Jacques Barro, Jean-Noel is a "convinced European". Some diplomats believe that he "lives on his father's reputation", others say that he managed to impose himself discreetly, especially during the campaign for the European elections last spring.
In the digital sector, one of his basic projects was the protection of children on the Internet, with proposals for blocking pornographic sites for minors and for a more effective fight against cyberbullying.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs works in particular to inform the general public about potential foreign influences (especially Russian) during the European campaign.
"He has done his job on European issues, even if he is a little young," soberly sums up a diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous. "He will have to work on many issues in a record short time and leave his mark in the jungle of international relations," he continues.
In the past, Jean-Noel Barro has successfully used the balance of power in his battle against the almighty social networks. He raised the question of the possibility of banning Twitter (now X) if the platform does not comply with moderation rules introduced within the European Union. During the riots in 2023 he ordered the removal of dozens of messages with content calling for violence from Twitter and TikTok.
For some time Baro taught at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA.
The economist with the shaved head and piercing blue eyes was elected as a deputy in 2017. with the list of MoDem - party, on which he appoints a vice-president.
His first trip as delegated minister for Europe takes him to Berlin and the Munich Security Conference. From tomorrow, September 23, the new head of French diplomacy will have to delve into the intricacies of world diplomacy. He will be eagerly awaited in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. His baptism of fire is complicated. The war in Gaza, the extremely strained relations between Israel and Lebanon, the war in Sudan, the war in Ukraine, the crisis in Haiti, the nuclear tension with Iran - there are no shortage of pressing problems.
After Catherine Colonna and Stéphane Séjournay, who failed to establish themselves, Jean-Noël Barot will be eagerly awaited.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris hopes that the new minister will usher in a period of stability after months of internal political crisis, which has distanced France from the international scene.
At the European level, Jean-Noel Barro will undoubtedly strive to work for closer French-German cooperation, which, according to him, is the basis of a strong and sovereign Europe. On the sidelines of the Olympic Games, he met with the head of German diplomacy, Analena Berbock.
His appointment in Rome is evaluated as positive. "Jean-Noel Barot loves Italy (and its baroque music). He knows and works very well with Raffaele Fizzo (his former colleague, now European Commissioner) and that's important, he knows the problems very well," said an Italian diplomat. I BGNES, France 24, AFP
