Emmanuel Macron received the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Monday afternoon, on the eve of her trip to Spain as the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Initially, there are no scheduled meetings with the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, or high-ranking members of the Spanish government, but she will meet with senior leaders of the Popular Party and Vox.
The meeting between Macron and María Corina Machado at the Élysée Palace was discreetly announced hours before on social media and took place without the presence of the press. Nevertheless, the French president's openness represents a political gesture of support for the efforts of the former "pre-candidate" of the Unitary Platform.
"Our deep gratitude to President Macron and the people of France for their strong support for the transition to democracy and freedom in Venezuela. We have gone through a long and painful journey, and finally, we are very close to Freedom. Venezuela will be a nation of free and equal men and women, prosperous, safe, and fraternal," Machado's message on her official X account read.
At the time of receiving the Nobel Prize, Macron congratulated her in a message on social media for "her courage and strong commitment to democracy and freedom in Venezuela". "This is the reward for your struggle," wrote the French president at that time.
Macron spoke with María Corina Machado again in January after the U.S. military operation and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, to express "France's support as a spokesperson for a peaceful, democratic transition fully respectful of the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people."
The meeting between Machado and Macron at the Élysée is seen as the climax of the contacts that the opposition leader has been maintaining with global leaders to draw international attention to the democratic transition in Venezuela. Machado has announced her intention to return to her country in the coming weeks to seek "a national agreement" with the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, for the holding of elections.
In February, after handing over her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump in a gesture heavily criticized in Europe, Machado virtually participated in the Munich Security Conference (from an undisclosed location in the United States) to demand "real guarantees of freedom, justice, and a democratic process" in Venezuela.
After her visit to France, the Venezuelan opposition leader will travel to Spain, where she is expected to be received on Friday by the President of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and will receive the Golden Key of the city of Madrid from Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, as reported by Efe. She is also expected to meet with Vox leaders.
Additionally, a possible meeting is being finalized for Saturday between Machado and Edmundo González with the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, as part of the event that the two opposition figures have convened with the Venezuelan diaspora "The 18 at 18".
"I do not control the agenda of the Prime Minister, but I am sure that if she requested it, the President would have no problem either," Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stated on Radio Nacional, attempting to explain why an official meeting with Pedro Sánchez has not been scheduled yet.
"I have spoken with her on several occasions," Albares acknowledged. "She is very welcome to come to Spain, and certainly, if she requests it, to have a meeting with her. There is no inconvenience in receiving her."
"Unlike other political parties in Spain, we do not have our candidate in Venezuela," Albares clarified. "We want the people of Venezuela to democratically and peacefully decide who will be their president. Others have already decided here in Spain before the vote."