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The French president Emmanuel Macron met with María Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize winner 2025, at the Élysée Palace in Paris to discuss the political situation in Venezuela and the importance of achieving a democratic transition in that country.
Macron confirmed the meeting through his account on X: "I met with María Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Together we recalled her commitment to freedom and the importance of achieving a democratic, peaceful transition in Venezuela that respects the will of its people."
The Élysée did not organize a press conference or media presence at the venue; the official communication was conducted solely through social media.
The meeting with Macron inaugurates the European tour of Machado, which will continue in Spain from April 17 to 18.
In Madrid, she will receive the Golden Key from the Madrid City Council from the hands of the mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida on Friday, April 17, at the Casa de la Villa, a distinction previously awarded to figures such as Juan Guaidó and Edmundo González Urrutia.
Mayor Martínez-Almeida justified the recognition by stating that it is given "for her commitment to human rights, to democracy, for having put her life and physical integrity at risk as a universal symbol".
On Saturday, April 18, Machado will meet with the Venezuelan diaspora alongside the legitimate president Edmundo González Urrutia, and will hold meetings with Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Santiago Abascal, and Pedro Rollán.
The European tour comes after a busy schedule in the United States, where Machado met with Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz.
France has been one of the most active European countries in demanding a democratic transition in Venezuela. Macron celebrated in January the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces in the so-called "Operation Absolute Resolution," called him a dictator, and recognized González Urrutia as the legitimate winner of the 2024 Venezuelan elections.
Since the capture of Maduro on January 3, 2026 and the swearing-in of Delcy Rodríguez as interim president, Venezuela is undergoing a process of partial opening that includes the release of political prisoners and the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with the United States, but with no date set for new elections.
Machado is the first Venezuelan to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor she was awarded on October 10, 2025. The Norwegian Nobel Committee described her as "a brave and committed advocate for peace, a woman who keeps the flame of democracy alive in the midst of growing darkness."
According to a survey conducted by The Economist and Premise in January 2026, 80% of Venezuelans supported the capture of Maduro and two-thirds called for new presidential elections, a demand that to this day remains unanswered by the authorities in Caracas.
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