President Macron Appreciates Military Academy Students’ Effort to Learn French

President Prabowo Subianto and French President Emmanuel Macron visit a French language class at Magelang Military Academy, Central Java province, Thursday (05/29). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)

An atmosphere full of enthusiasm welcomed President of France Emmanuel Macron and President Prabowo Subianto as they visited a French language class at Magelang Military Academy, Central Java province, Thursday (05/29).

Upon arrival at the academy building, President Macron, accompanied by President Prabowo, headed to a classroom. President Macron showed great enthusiasm and greeted the students with ‘Bonjour!’ which was warmly received with smiles and greetings in return from the students.

In a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, several students had the opportunity to practice conversing in French in front of both leaders. President Macron smiled and gave a warm response throughout the session.

“Thank you very much. That’s great. Thank you for learning French and thank you for this commitment. I appreciate your courage in speaking a few sentences in French in front of the President of Indonesia and myself,” President Macron said with pride.

In the meantime, President Prabowo occasionally greeted the students, asked their names and unit affiliations, creating a warm and informal atmosphere in the classroom.

Yoga Kertiyasa was one of the students granted the opportunity to speak directly with President Macron. In an interview after the visit, he expressed his sense of pride and heartfelt emotion.

“We are extremely proud to be able to meet President Prabowo and President Macron directly. This is such a remarkable opportunity. President Macron became curious about how far we have progressed in our French studies. We gave a presentation and shared stories about our activities over the past weekend,” he said.

This visit was a part of efforts to strengthen cooperation in defense and education between Indonesia and France, particularly in mastering a foreign language which serves as an essential tool for operating strategic defense equipment in the future. In addition, this occasion demonstrated the serious commitment of both leaders to building a strong foundation of superior defense human resources to face global challenges. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (RAS/TM)