Climate Changed

France Is an Amazonian Nation, Macron Says in Retort to Brazil

French Guyana in South America shares long border with Brazil
Macron and Brazil’s Bolsonaro have feuded over Amazon fires

Emmanuel Macron, center, at UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 23.Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

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By Gregory Viscusi

September 23, 2019 at 3:31 PM UTC

Updated on

September 23, 2019 at 8:11 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

French President Emmanuel Macron further staked France’s claim to the debate over the Amazon’s future with a geography lesson -- the latest shot in a back-and-forth feud with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over climate change and the destruction of the South American rainforest.

Citing the French overseas department of Guyana in South America as fully a part of France, Macron on Monday said his nation has a direct interest in the rainforest’s future. French Guyana shares a 730-kilometer (450-mile) border with Brazil -- about 100 kilometers longer than continental France’s frontier with Spain -- and is one of five overseas departments.