Amid a diplomatic row with France, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to stop using French Bic pens to sign official documents.
“A pen (of the Brazilian brand) Compactor and no more Bic, will work,” Bolsonaro said, according to AFP. He added that he would stop using Bic “because it is French.”
When asked if he was joking or serious, the Brazilian presidential office declined to comment.
The conservative Bolsonaro, 64, has touted his use of Bic disposable pens to sign important documents as a show of austerity after his predecessors. Despite being a French company, most of the Bic pens sold in Brazil are made in the Brazilian city of Manaus.
The company said it was “flattered” to be seen as a “democratic brand,” but declined to comment on Bolsonaro’s decision.
The Brazilian president and French President Emmanuel Macron have feuded in recent days. The spat began over the increase in fires in the Amazon. Before the G-7 summit last week, the French leader said the fires are an “international crisis.” In turn, the G-7 pledged $22 million to assist with the fires.
Bolsonaro demanded an apology from Macron for what he described as insinuations that Brazil did not have sovereignty over the Amazon rainforest.
“First of all, Macron has to withdraw his insults. He called me a liar. Before we talk or accept anything from France … he must withdraw these words then we can talk,” Bolsonaro said Tuesday. “First he withdraws, then offers (aid), then I will answer.”
