US President Joe Biden welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House on Thursday to celebrate more than 200 years of Franco-American relations and a renewed alliance in the fight against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Biden welcomes Macron during Frenchman’s first state visit since the US president took office in early 2021. Biden and his wife Jill greeted Macron and his wife Brigitte with hugs, kisses and wide smiles .
The two couples, who dined together informally Wednesday, attended a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House that featured a military honor guard, a red-jacketed Colonial band with fifes, drums and hymns national.
Biden welcomed France as “our oldest ally, our unshakable partner in the cause of freedom” in his keynote address at the ceremony. Both leaders celebrated their countries’ alliance against Russian President Putin as defenders of democracy.
“France and the United States are facing Vladimir Putin’s conquest ambitions and Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, which has once again destroyed peace on the European continent,” Biden said. “France and the United States once again support the democratic values and universal human rights that are at the heart of our two nations.”
Macron said the two nations needed to become brothers in arms again after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and they had a shared responsibility to protect democracies on both sides of the ocean shaken by doubts.
“Our new borders are there, and it is our joint responsibility to respond,” the French president said.
Biden and Macron smiled as they exchanged comments and seemed at ease with each other. Before their talks, they said they would discuss high-tech trade and the indirect impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on economies.
Biden, 80, and Macron, 44, have had many encounters in international meetings, but this will be the longest time they spend together. A lavish state dinner was planned, with 200 Maine lobsters brought in for the occasion.
Among the gifts Macron brought was a vinyl and CD version of the original soundtrack from Claude Lelouch’s 1966 film “Un Homme et une Femme,” the film the Bidens went to see when they first met, according to the Presidential Palace. the presidency of France.
The Biden couple gave Macron a custom mirror made from wood fallen from the White House grounds and a collection of custom vinyl records from great American musicians.
Macron is expected to raise French and European subsidy concerns in Biden’s Reduction of Inflation Act (IRA), a $430 billion bill offering massive subsidies for US-made goods aimed at tackling the climate crisis.
European leaders say the legislative package signed by Biden in August is unfair to non-US companies and would deal a major blow to their economies as Europe grapples with the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
In a Wednesday meeting with US lawmakers, Macron said the act was “super aggressive” towards European companies, one participant told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Macron told the French community in Washington that the cost of the war in Ukraine was far greater in Europe than in the United States and that Europe was in danger of being left behind if subsidies divert new investment. That could “break the West apart,” he said.
There was no sign that Biden was willing to compromise.
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Source: Terra
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
