The President of the Republic ends this Friday his second state visit to the United States. The opportunity to demonstrate to his counterpart the qualities of French know-how at a time when Washington is making an act of industrial protectionism.
Show what France is capable of. As the President of the Republic concludes his State visit to the United States this Friday in New Orleans, he has multiplied, in recent days, official meetings, ceremonies and dinners with Joe Biden. The opportunity for Emmanuel Macron to be the spokesperson for a Europe which fears seeing its industrial fabric weakened when the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – a battery of subsidies for American companies – will come into force in a few weeks.
The opportunity also to bring to the American president and his wife, Jill Biden, a myriad of gifts, symbols of “made in France”. For his American counterpart, Emmanuel Macron put in his suitcases a watch from the LIP brand – a large French watchmaking company founded at the end of the 19e century – and a Saint James sweater – a Norman brand specializing in the manufacture of marine clothing for more than a century -, according to information from BFM TV .
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A way of probably responding to the gala dinner menu held Thursday evening by the Biden couple at the White House, during which several very symbolic products of French gastronomy, such as wine and cheese, did not come from French regions but from many American lands. Second gift, and not the least, a cup from the Christofle goldsmith house. The product, dating from 2012, is a tribute to the crossings of the industrialist Charles Christofle aboard the liner Normandy between the two shores of the Atlantic at the 19e century.
A nod to the young Biden couple
The last surprise, more symbolic this time, is a nod to the young years of the couple formed by the American president and the first lady: a duplicate record on vinyl and on CD of the soundtrack ofA man and a woman, Claude Lelouch’s film, released in 1966, and whose music was composed by Francis Lai. The cinematographic work had been seen by Joe and the future Jill Biden during their first meeting, had then specified the Elysee.
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The head of state has not forgotten the wife of the American president. Two books were given to him: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, and a collection of essays by Albert Camus. In this very strategic visit, Emmanuel Macron was keen not to leave aside Vice-President Kamala Harris either, who received, on Wednesday at NASA headquarters, a model of the Ariane 5 rocket. are committed to continuing their cooperation in space exploration.