Emmanuel Macron received unexpected support on Monday. The emblematic singer of the group U2, Bono, confided on France inter to have been impressed by “the intellectual and verbal acuity” of the French president, whom he met on several occasions. A judgment he makes after having, he says, had the opportunity to meet with many leaders as part of his humanitarian commitment.
Asked about a passage from his autobiography “Surrender” (Fayard), in which the artist evokes his meetings with the last French presidents and compares Emmanuel Macron to a leader of Silicon Valley, Bono clarified his thoughts at the microphone of the radio.
“I talk about him behind the scenes. I see how he solves problems (…) he rolls up his sleeves…”, explained the singer who nevertheless specifies that he is not “qualified to comment on French politics”. For him Macron exudes “an unusual energy”, comparable to that of the “leaders of Silicon Valley”. If the comparison is intended to be flattering, it can make you smile as the image of the President of the Republic has been associated in France with that – not very warm and human – of the start-up.
“His verbal acuity, his intellectual acuity… Frankly all the leaders in the world are not so smart. They know how to talk, they can be warm or charismatic but you need a certain intellectual level…”, continued Bono, visibly charmed.
Several face-to-face
In his autobiography, the Irish singer recounted his meeting with the last French presidents. If he said he was “stunned” by Jacques Chirac, compared Nicolas Sarkozy to “a spinning top” and confided to having been on the same wavelength as François Hollande, he affirmed that Emmanuel Macron had “nothing has nothing to do with his predecessors or with any other leader”. “He’s a lot more like the executives of a Silicon Valley start-up,” Bono wrote.
The two men met several times, in particular because of the singer’s humanitarian commitment. Emmanuel Macron had received him for the first time at the Élysée in 2017, a meeting during which they had notably mentioned “the refugee crisis”. “It was a rather singular conversation, as I have rarely had,” Bono confided on the steps of the Élysée. The two men met again in September 2018 to discuss the partnership between Europe and Africa.