Macron's Indonesia trip exposes the worst part of visiting Jakarta

Yahoo

2 days ago

French President Emmanuel Macron came to Jakarta hoping to charm Indonesians with selfies and sweet words. Instead, he got a flood of emotional tweets - and not the endearing kind.
His motorcade rolled into the Indonesian capital on Wednesday afternoon, right in time for rush hour. By evening, Jakarta's roads were jammed, tempers were flaring, and netizens were storming social media to let him know exactly how they felt.
Macron posted a cheerful selfie with some Indonesian students, writing on X (formerly Twitter), "Indonesia loves France — and the feeling is mutual!" But the comments section quickly turned into a digital traffic jam of its own.
"You caused HOURS of traffic!" one user complained. Another added, "Your visit to our country caused a catastrophic congestion last night. Hope you have a nightmare while visiting here." And a third put it plainly: 'Nah, we hate you Macron.'
Videos of gridlock on Jakarta's main roads went viral. One clip showed a nightmare along Sudirman, the city's main business strip, with cars barely moving — except, of course, for a squeaky-clean lane reserved for the presidential convoy.
To be fair, Jakarta isn't exactly famous for smooth rides. With over 11 million residents and a car-obsessed culture, traffic is a daily battle. But Macron's visit lit the match on a powder keg of public frustration.
Local police rushed to clear things up. 'It wasn't Macron,' said traffic director Komarudin. He insisted the gridlock was due to the usual midweek spike in vehicles and not because of the French leader's movements.
Still, he admitted the roads were cleared 'just for a moment' while Macron's convoy passed.
And in a twist that prompted mockery from some online, even Macron himself reportedly got stuck in Jakarta's traffic. So did his wife, who was delayed returning from a museum visit.
Jakarta is among the world's most congested cities and in addition to having more than 11 million residents, there are millions more who commute in from nearby areas.
Indonesia has 17,500 islands - and with them many reasons not to stay in the dense and smog-ridden capital.
Most travellers to Indonesia want to quickly escape one of the world's most congested cities, and will only briefly see the sprawling city's traffic-choked streets while on their way to island beaches and volcanoes.
The belching fumes from heavy traffic have long meant the wearing of face coverings by some of the tens of thousands of motorcyclists clogging the streets at rush hour.
Research has shown the continuing impact of air pollution in Asia makes it a bigger global health challenge than alcohol, cigarettes, dirty drinking water or traffic accidents.
Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest economy and has been investing in infrastructure development to boost growth and connectivity.
However Jakarta's traffic remains notoriously bad and many arrivals will quickly leave the capital's poor air quality behind for a train trip to Bali via Java and from there to the snorkelling haven of Lombok or to Komodo National Park.
The government is even building a new capital, Nusantara, in the Kalimantan region on the island of Borneo, since Jakarta, with its smog and traffic chaos, is no longer viable as a capital in the long term. In addition, the city is falling victim to frequent flooding.