May 30, 2025
JAKARTA – President Prabowo Subianto hosted France’s President Emmanuel Macron in Magelang, Central Java, on Thursday as the two leaders pledged closer ties, particularly in defense, to navigate a world bereft of trust and full of conflict.
With a symbolic stop at the Magelang Military Academy and a picture-perfect viewing of nearby world heritage site Borobudur Temple, they also played up the shared values that analysts say makes France an “important alternative” global power to bolster Indonesia’s sphere of influence.
Prabowo and his French counterpart flew together by helicopter on Thursday from Yogyakarta’s International Airport to Magelang, a city in Central Java surrounded by mountains that serves as Indonesia’s training ground for future Army officers.
After being welcomed with a reception by cadets in formation at the landing site, Prabowo took the driver’s seat of an official vehicle and invited Macron to join him at the front seat, as they made their way to the military academy’s main building, greeted along the route by a marching band and hundreds of students waving Indonesian flags.
The pair attended a military parade, where President Macron conferred the Grand Croix de la Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest civilian and military distinction, on Prabowo, pinning the medal on him in front of top government officials, military officers and cadets.
In his speech during a luncheon with the French President and the academy cadets, Prabowo expressed gratitude for the award, saying: “This is a great honor for me and Indonesia”.
Macron’s visit to the Military Academy came after Indonesia and France signed some key defense agreements at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday. This includes a preliminary defense pact that could lead to new orders of French military equipment, including Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene submarines, Macron said in a joint press conference with Prabowo that day.
Aside from defense, more than 20 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth at least US$11 billion were also signed on Wednesday, including the one on cooperation between French mining company Eramet and the newly-established Indonesian sovereign wealth fund Danantara, said Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto.
Another notable deal was between French food giant Danone and Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN), which oversees Prabowo’s flagship program to provide free meals to schoolchildren.
The war in Gaza was also discussed at Wednesday’s bilateral meeting, with Prabowo renewing Indonesia’s call for a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict in the Middle East, a stance Macron welcomed as part of broader efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.
Macron’s visit to Indonesia was part of his effort to pitch France and Europe as reliable partners to Southeast Asian nations worried about becoming collateral damage in the US trade war and security disputes between Washington and Beijing, a French presidential adviser said, as reported by Reuters.
Pieter Pandie of Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), however, said the momentum behind Indonesia and France relations was not merely the result of rising tensions between the United States and China, noting that the partnership dates back more than a decade and is evolving on its own strategic merits.
“The relationship with France is already that of a strategic partnership, which was announced in 2011. Indonesia ultimately sees France as an important partner for select sectors such as defense,” Pieter told The Jakarta Post. “The next step now is to expand the relationship further to include more sectors of cooperation.”
While France plays an increasingly important role, China remains Indonesia’s largest trading partner, and the US is its most frequent collaborator in military exercises and the top supplier of arms.
“France is likely seen as an important alternative source for trade, investment and defense cooperation,” Pieter said. “But it will be difficult to fully replace the significance of the US or China.”
Still, investing in the bilateral relationship with France is seen as a strategic move, particularly as geopolitical competition sharpens across the Indo-Pacific, he said.