FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

Paris views Pyongyang as one piece of a larger chessboard: Xi Jinping's influence strategy. French coverage explicitly links the summit to the 'meetings with Trump, Putin and Kim' that sketch, in 2026, the maneuver of a Chinese leader seeking to position himself as the indispensable pivot of world order. The Chinese president pledged to take the relationship with North Korea 'to new heights' and assured Kim of his 'unwavering support' during this rare visit. But the French press also asks the question that is awkward for Beijing: 'Is Kim Jong-un an embarrassment to China?' Because rapprochement with a regime that supplies soldiers to Russia in Ukraine, accelerates its nuclear program and cultivates its image of 'miraculous transformation' is not without diplomatic cost for a China that wants to be seen as a responsible power. The French analysis is less anxious than Seoul's or Tokyo's, and more strategic: the point is to understand what Xi gains — an ally pulled back into his orbit, a signal to Washington over Taiwan, a counterweight to Russian influence — and what he risks, namely appearing alongside the most untouchable leader on the planet. For Paris, committed to multilateralism and non-proliferation, the implicit normalization of North Korea's nuclear status by Asia's leading power is the summit's real alarm bell.