France accuses Brazil's Bolsonaro of lying, opposes EU-Mercosur deal

The French government said on Friday it now opposes an EU trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of South American nations, including Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay-- a result of what France sees as Bolsonaro's untrustworthiness.

President Emmanuel Macron announced his opposition to EU-Mercosul trade deals amid growing indignation against Brazilian President Bolsonaro's environmental stance AFP Photos/POOL/Jacques Witt

"In light of Brazil's attitude these recent weeks," according to the statement issued by the French presidency, Macron "can only conclude that President Bolsonaro lied to him during the Osaka Summit" in June that included talks on climate change.

"The decisions and statements from Brazil these recent weeks show clearly that President Bolsonaro has decided to not respect his commitments on the climate, nor to involve himself on the issue of biodiversity," added the statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron called wildfires burning in the Amazon an international crisis and said leaders of the Group of 7 nations meeting this weekend in Biarritz, France, should hold discussions about them.

Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro called Macron’s comment sensationalist and blamed him for having a “colonialist mentality” towards Brazil.

“Our house is burning. Literally,” Macron tweeted on Thursday. Bolsonaro responded that the French president was using a domestic issue for Brazil for personal political gain.

He said that the suggestion that the fires be discussed at the G7 “without participation by the countries in the region evokes a colonialist mentality that is out of place in the 21st century".

Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rain forest - the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen - is on fire. It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let's discuss this emergency first order in two days! #ActForTheAmazon pic.twitter.com/dogOJj9big

  Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 22, 2019

Bolsonaro noted that Macron's tweet included a photo of a fire in the Amazon that is at least 16 years old, and has been posted on social media in recent days in connection to the fires.

• Brazil’s Bolsonaro claims poverty while Amazon burns

Brazil's government complained Thursday that it is being targeted in smear campaign by critics who say Bolsonaro is not doing enough to curb widespread deforestation.

Onyx Lorenzoni, the president's chief of staff, accused European countries of exaggerating environmental problems in Brazil in order to disrupt its commercial interests.

"There is deforestation in Brazil, yes, but not at the rate and level that they say," said Lorenzoni, according to the Brazilian news website globo.com.

His allegation came after Germany and Norway, citing Brazil's apparent lack of commitment to fighting deforestation, decided to withhold more than $60 million in funds earmarked for sustainability projects in Brazilian forests.

Official figures show nearly 73,000 recorded forest fires in Brazil in the first eight months of 2019, the highest number for any year since 2013.

Bolsonaro attributes the fires to increased drought, and has accused environmental groups and NGOs of whipping up an "environmental psychosis" to harm Brazil's economic interests.

Peru, which contains much of the Amazon basin, said it was "on alert" for wildfires spreading from the rainforest in Brazil and Bolivia. Paraguay and Bolivia are battling separate wildfires that have devastated large areas of their rainforests.