All the trappings are summoned to make people forget past annoyances. Before Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Washington, from November 30 to December 2, the president’s second since his election, the Elysée took care to underline the “rare privilege” thus granted to France. « Marque, do we assure in the entourage of the head of statethe excellence of Franco-American relations”. On the American side, we appreciate ” longevity, life expectancy “ and the ” wisdom “, of the French leader. You have to turn the page of the Franco-Australian submarine affair, a sales contract broken in 2021 by the alliance of Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom (Aukus), at the origin of a major diplomatic crisis between the two countries. It is also a question of erasing the excesses and the volte-face of Donald Trump.
The « bromance » (contraction de “brother” and “romance”) displayed in 2018 between the former Republican president and the head of state – nicknamed “little Emmanuel” by his American counterpart – had been upset by Washington’s exit from the Paris agreements against global warming, the taxation of wine French or the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the agreement supposed to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
In substance and form, the warming of Franco-American relations will be illustrated, in particular, by a private dinner that President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, are to offer Wednesday, November 30 to the Head of State and his wife, Brigitte, in an Italian restaurant in Washington. “A moment of presidential intimacy” during which the two leaders will be able to exchange “in the very informal, very frank and very friendly framework of the relationship they have”assures the Elysée.
The opportunity, perhaps also, to address disturbing subjects. Ally, don’t mean “aligned”we underline in Paris, where we claim, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, a “demanding political dialogue” et “sometimes more difficult on certain subjects”.
Avoid escalation with Moscow
Accompanied by a group of ministers, including the indispensable Bruno Le Maire (economy), Sébastien Lecornu (army), Catherine Colonna (foreign affairs), Sylvie Retailleau (higher education), as well as businessmen such as Xavier Niel (individual shareholder of the Monde), boss of Illiad, Bernard Arnault (LVMH) or Patrick Pouyanné (TotalEnergies), the Head of State hopes to convince the Democratic President that the « leadership » American is not incompatible with the « partnership » European. American power must not rest on the weakening of the European Union (EU), we insist in Paris, where we plead to set up a “strengthened partnership” despite an unbalanced balance of power.
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