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Macron gives Prabowo France's highest military award.
Macron's trip to Indonesia is the second stop of a three-nation, six-day tour of Southeast Asia that began with Vietnam and concludes in Singapore.
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France's President Emmanuel Macron (2nd left) and President Prabowo Subianto (3rd left) visit the Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java on May 29, 2025. (AFP/Jeanne Acorsini)
F
rench President Emmanuel Macron bestowed President Prabowo Subianto with France's top award on Thursday, before announcing a new cultural partnership with Jakarta on a visit to the world's largest Buddhist temple.
Macron's trip to Indonesia is the second stop of a three-nation, six-day tour of Southeast Asia that began with Vietnam and concludes in Singapore.
After meeting for talks in the capital Jakarta, Macron and Prabowo flew by helicopter on Thursday from Yogyakarta to a military academy in Magelang, a city in Central Java surrounded by mountains.
The pair attended a military parade and Macron gave Prabowo the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, France's highest military or civil award.
Prabowo is an ex-general accused of rights abuses under dictator Suharto's rule in the late 1990s. He was discharged from the military over his role in the abductions of democracy activists but denied the allegations and was never charged.
Macron rode in a jeep driven by Prabowo with the pair welcomed by a marching band and hundreds of students waving Indonesian flags.
Macron then visited Borobudur, a Buddhist temple built in the 9th century that is the world's largest, where the pair announced they were boosting cultural ties.
