French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Washington, DC, on Wednesday to exchange diplomatic regards with U.S. counterpart Joe Biden. It will be his second state visit to the White House in four years.
Macron can anticipate another 21-gun salute and lavish black-tie White House state dinner that will emulate ex-president Donald Trump’s welcome in 2018, acknowledging the leader of America’s longest ally and NATO partner.
AFP reports Macron will hardly be alone in his diplomatic foray.
His travelling entourage will include – but not be limited to – foreign, defence and finance ministers, as well as business leaders and astronauts, personal staff, and political advisers.
One senior American official told AFP, “this visit is about the personal relationship, the alliance relationship” with France.
File/From L to R French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are pictured during the Group of Seven G7 Summit in Schloss Elmau in south Germany’s Bavarian Alps on June 26, 2022. (Guo Chen/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“There are enormous opportunities to cooperate between the Biden administration and the Macron government,” said Martin Quencez, deputy director of the Paris office of think-tank GMF.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Monday described Macron as the “dynamic leader” of America’s oldest ally while explaining Biden’s decision to honor the French president with the first state visit of his presidency, AP reports.
Trade, defense cooperation, Ukraine developments, and Russia are expected to be top of the list for formal discussions between the two.
“If you look at what’s going on in Ukraine, look at what’s going on in the Indo Pacific and the tensions with China, France is really at the center of all those things,” Kirby said. “And so the president felt that this was exactly the right and the most appropriate country to start with for state visits.”
Macron was also Republican Donald Trump’s pick as the first foreign leader to be honored with a state visit during his term.
The 2018 state visit included a jaunt by the two leaders to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, America’s founding president.
President Joe Biden (L) chats with France’s President Emmanuel Macron during their visit to a mangrove conservation forest on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 16, 2022. (BAY ISMOYO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
On Thursday, AP reports Macron will have his private meeting with Biden followed by a joint news conference and visits to the State Department and Capitol Hill before Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, are feted at the state dinner.
Grammy winner Jon Batiste is to provide the entertainment.
Macron will head to New Orleans on Friday, where he is to announce plans to expand programming to support French language education in U.S. schools.