Emmanuel Macron decorated cacique Raoni Metuktire, global icon of the defense of the Amazon and the culture of first peoples, with the Legion of Honor on Tuesday during a nighttime ceremony in the middle of the forest in Brazil.
The atmosphere was far from the protocol of decoration ceremonies at the Élysée presidential palace in Paris.
The atmosphere is cheerful on the island of Combu, near Belém, a city in northern Brazil where the French head of state began a visit to Brazil, in the company of his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
With his multicolored feather headdress and his now iconic lip plate, Raoni, over 90 years old today, is still as imposing.
Emmanuel Macron elevates the old indigenous leader to the rank of officer of the Legion of Honor and hugs him.
Raoni takes his place between the presidents, both in shirt sleeves and all smiles.
“You have never stopped, you never stop
,” says the French president in his tribute to the cacique.
Alternating between
“you”
and
“you”
, he adds:
“Yes Raoni, you carried this fight perhaps even further than others (...).
Very modestly I wanted to say that we will continue to lead it alongside you
.
“I consider Lula as my brother, Macron as my son
,” confides Raoni.
“Very concerned that the white man continues to destroy nature
,” he urges them to provide
“support”
so that there is
“more indigenous land”
returned to indigenous people.
Nobel Prize of Peace
Stalled under the mandate of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), the crucial process of approving territories reserved for indigenous people has resumed under Lula.
But they remain threatened by deforestation, the advance of agricultural and mining exploitation and trafficking.
Raoni also calls for the support of the two presidents
“to win the Nobel Peace Prize”
.
He is regularly cited as a possible winner of the prestigious award.
Message received by Lula:
“I can tell you, comrade Raoni, that there is no one on planet Earth who deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize more than you”
.
The leader of the Kayapo people was at Lula's side for his inauguration ceremony upon his return to power last year.
Read alsoIn Brazil, Emmanuel Macron is banking on Lula to rally the “Global South”
In 1989, with the help of British singer Sting, Raoni left Brazil for the first time and appealed for help in 17 countries.
Since then, he has continued to defend, to those in power, the survival of indigenous peoples threatened by deforestation.
Accused by Jair Bolsonaro of being in the pay of foreign powers, the cacique in turn denounced him to the International Criminal Court for
"crimes against humanity"
, accusing him of
"persecuting"
indigenous peoples by destroying their habitat and violating their fundamental rights.