French President Emmanuel Macron arrived yesterday evening in the United States on a 3-day state visit, during which he will meet his American counterpart, Joe Biden.
The French President's plane landed at Andrews Air Force Base in the suburbs of Washington, and he was received at the airport by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
The French president will spend two days in Washington, before heading on the third and final day of his visit to New Orleans, which was once a French city.
This is the first state visit organized by the United States during the Biden era, after restrictions imposed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic prevented similar visits in the past.
Fears
Like his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, who organized Macron's first state visit in 2018, Biden thought that Macron would single himself out for the first state visit of his term.
The French President hopes that this visit will contribute to advancing his diplomatic efforts aimed at putting an end to the war in Ukraine, and defending the French point of view that rejects American "protectionism".
The thorny part of this visit is most likely related to the commercial file.
From the American gas prices that Europe imports, to the competition with China, to the American protectionist measures.
And while the United States is planning huge investments and subsidies under the IRA, Europeans fear the negative effects of this legislation on their companies' competition in sectors such as electric cars, batteries and clean energy.