Brazil's Bolsonaro stops using France's Bic pens amid clash
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said he won't use pens made by French company Bic following his spat with President Emmanuel Macron over fires in the Amazon. Bolsonaro said Friday he would sign presidential pardons for imprisoned police officers using Brazilian pen-maker Compactor.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, center, talks with the reporters outside the presidential official residence Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019. Bolsonaro on Tuesday said Brazil will only accept an offer of international aid to fight Amazon fires if French leader Emmanuel Macron retracts comments that he finds offensive. (Antonio Cruz/Agencia Brasil via AP)
Smoke rises from several burning fires in Altamira, Para state, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he has accepted four planes from Chile to help fight Amazon fires, and he accused the French president of portraying himself as "the one and only person" concerned about the environment.
"No more Bic," said the far-right president who has faced international criticism over devastating fires in Brazil's Amazon region. Bic headquarters declined to comment on Saturday, saying only that Bic pens sold in Brazil are made in a factory in Manaus in the Amazon.
On Thursday, Bolsonaro said he would "use Compactor pens, not Bic... because Bic is French." Bolsonaro and Marcon have had a series of clashes since Macron suggested that fires in the Amazon were an "international crisis," which Bolsonaro said undermined Brazil's sovereignty.
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