United States: Emmanuel Macron ended his state visit to New Orleans on a cultural note
Audio 01:25
New Orleans, last stage of the French president's state visit to the United States: walkabout for Emmanuel Macron alongside the mayor of the city, Latoya Cantrell, December 2, 2022. AP - Gerald Herbert
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
Emmanuel Macron ended his visit to the United States with a stopover in New Orleans.
In the most French of American cities, the head of state took stock of his state visit and showed that culture and language were also diplomatic weapons.
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After the timed protocol of his state visit to Washington, Emmanuel Macron changed his mood by going to New Orleans - it is traditional to go to a city other than the capital of a country when you do a state visit - a city marked by its shared past with France, of which it was a possession until the beginning of the 19th century, reports our special correspondent,
Valérie Gas
.
Barely got off his plane, he strolled through the French square of the city, following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and especially General de Gaulle who had also visited this city during their visit. of state.
A joyful stopover, also with political significance
with the launch of the
French for all
fund , intended to support the learning of French beyond the elite:
"For me, this is an opportunity to establish a historical link and then, it is also a way of developing our diplomacy culture and language in a land that defends French and continues to defend it
.
Today in New Orleans, we are launching French for All, an initiative to ensure equal access to the French language for everyone in the United States, from kindergarten to higher education.
pic.twitter.com/PYOAgdDblH
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 3, 2022
►
To read also
: Between Paris and Washington, a unique relationship?
Emmanuel Macron also took advantage of this stopover in Louisiana to discreetly meet
Elon Musk
, the boss of Tesla, Space X and now
, with whom he had a frank and sincere discussion, according to the President of the Republic, in particular about future green industrial projects such as the production of electric vehicles and batteries...
In line with our ambition to decarbonize and reindustrialise France and Europe, I spoke today with @elonmusk on future green industrial projects, in particular on the manufacture of electric vehicles and batteries.
pic.twitter.com/oMwcejKGx6
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 3, 2022
A "
very good
" record
Before returning to Paris, Emmanuel Macron took stock of his visit "
very good
", according to him, because he drew the attention of the United States to the consequences for Europe of
their plan of subsidies to the economy.
by putting “
the feet in the dish
””: “
This State visit makes it possible to put France, and with France, Europe, also at the heart of the American agenda.
It's a good thing for our country, it's a good thing for our continent.
And now, you have to be able to build on it over time.
We have already obtained, I would say, short-term gains through these roadmaps, these joint investments, but we must continue to move forward”.
“
Move quickly to obtain results by the first quarter of 2023
”, said the president who also invited Joe Biden to visit him in France: “
He told me in any case that it was his wish.
Afterwards, we all have busy schedules, and we know, in recent years, that we are not always in control of events.
New Orleans: on the balcony, residents greet, glass of wine in hand, the passage of the French president.
Emmanuel Macron ended his state visit to the United States in Louisiana on December 2, 2022.
AP - Gerald Herbert
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