We had left them by the fireside, in the Oval Office, after the arrival of the Macron couple at the White House.

And it was almost two hours late, in the end, that the French president and his host, Joe Biden, presented themselves to the press after their private meeting.

One of the highlights of this three-day state visit to Washington.

What to remember from this joint press conference?

20 Minutes

has concocted a little recap for you.

On the State visit and Franco-American relations

It was Joe Biden who, as host, spoke first.

An American president “delighted to have had these conversations with Emmanuel Macron”.

Which “Emmanuel, has become a friend”.

The tenant of the White House continued on the relationship between the two Nations: “We have a common program, we can have disagreements, of course.

But if I had to go into detail about all our cooperation, we would still be here tonight”.

Same tribute from Emmanuel Macron, "very happy to share this moment".

For the French president, this Franco-American relationship “is built on a history that obliges us.

Whenever vital things have been at stake, we've been there for each other.

This should structure the rest”.

On the war in Ukraine

Again, the two men appeared lined up.

"We continue to support the Ukrainian people in the face of this incredibly violent aggression," began Joe Biden.

We will hold Russia accountable for its actions.”

Should we keep a link with the Kremlin?

"I will not contact Mr. Putin, I will be ready to speak with him when he decides to end the war," replied the American president.

Emmanuel Macron took action by saying that Paris and Washington “condemn this war and the war crimes committed by Russia on Ukrainian soil”, in particular because “Moscow wants to make winter impossible”.



On the economy

This is THE current point of tension between the two countries, and the subject that came up the most during this conference: the American industrial program, the “Inflation Reduction Act”, deemed too protectionist by Paris.

“We have the same objective: to invest massively in clean energies.

Our teams will continue to talk to each other, to coordinate us, ”tried to reassure Joe Biden.

“The United States will never apologize for the plan that we are going to put in place,” he added, while ensuring that job creation in the United States will not be at the expense of the Europe.

What does Emmanuel Macron say about it, who on Wednesday judged this “super aggressive” policy vis-à-vis France and the EU?

“One of the consequences [of this American investment plan] is that European projects may suffer from it, and this is not the will of the United States”.

The goal is therefore to “resynchronize, the discussion was perfectly clear” on this subject.

“These domino effects have to be resolved, we want to succeed together, not against each other”. 

Does the American president think that Emmanuel Macron leaves reassured on this subject?

" I'm confident.

That's my answer,” retorted Joe Biden with a smile.


In a joint statement, the two heads of state also indicated their commitment to support Ukraine "as long as necessary" and to "coordinate" their response to the "challenges posed by China".

They also praised the courage of the Iranian demonstrators.

World

Emmanuel Macron in the United States: "Chabadabada", 200 lobsters and little touches on the menu

World

Emmanuel Macron in the United States: The Franco-American "resynchronization" undermined by a tackle from the Head of State

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