Hungarian Conservative

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Meets Emmanuel Macron in Paris

Vivien Cher Benko /Press Office of the Prime Minister/MTI
The working dinner was held at the Élysée Palace, where Macron received the Hungarian Prime Minister in front of the press at around 7:30 p.m.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Paris on Monday evening.

The working dinner was held at the Élysée Palace, where Macron received the Hungarian Prime Minister in front of the press at around 7:30 p.m. According to official French statements, the parties discussed current European issues at the meeting, including the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and support for Ukraine, strengthening European competitiveness, energy security issues, and the development of the European defence industry.

According to an AFP report, the French President

aimed to persuade the Hungarian Prime Minister to support a united European stance on the Ukrainian war,

and emphasised the importance of ‘European values’ and ‘the rule of law’ during the meeting.

The report also states that Emmanuel Macron and Viktor Orbán discussed the upcoming European Council meeting in Brussels on 23–24 March, as well as issues related to industrial policy, energy, and migration.

The dinner at the Élysée Palace took place more than a year after the two leaders’ last bilateral meeting in Budapest in December 2021. Macron had pledged that he would express his position to Orbán that Hungary must ratify the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden prior to the meeting. No further information has been released about the discussion between the two parties.

As part of his visit to France, Viktor Orbán also held talks with former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. The discussions focused not only Hungarian-French bilateral relations but also some important international topics, such as the Ukrainian conflict and other major European political issues.

The working dinner was held at the Élysée Palace, where Macron received the Hungarian Prime Minister in front of the press at around 7:30 p.m.

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