Argentina’s Milei heads to Paris to attract investment

Argentina's President Javier Milei is set to travel to Paris this week, where he will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and oversee a forum aimed at attracting investment to the country. The trip comes as the Argentine economy shows signs of stagnation, with a 0.6% drop in GDP in the second quarter compared to the previous three-month period.

Milei, a firebrand libertarian who considers himself an anarcho-capitalist, made headlines recently by criticizing Europe for being overly regulated, having high immigration rates, and espousing woke thinking. He made these remarks in an interview with French broadcaster LCI, expressing his dislike for European President Donald Trump, whom he accused of speaking the truth about the continent's decline.

Milei will give a speech at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and hold talks with Macron during his Paris visit. The forum, known as Argentina Week, will take place from September 30 to October 2. Since assuming power in 2023, Milei has managed to generate a budget surplus and reduce inflation, which had been skyrocketing at triple-digit levels, down to an annual rate of 35%.

However, three years of austerity measures have negatively impacted the industrial sector, employment, and consumption in Argentina, Latin America's third-largest economy.