Macron arrives at the White House for first state visit of the Biden administration | CNN Politics

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US President Joe Biden is participating in a flurry of occasions as a part of his first state go to since taking workplace, welcoming the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron and his partner, Brigitte Macron, on Thursday.

The Macrons’ journey to the White Home marks their second time because the company of honor for a state go to, having first finished so throughout Donald Trump’s administration in 2018. Thursday’s agenda is stuffed with formal fanfare, with an inventory of occasions anticipate to spotlight the power of the important relationship between the US and its oldest ally.

The Macrons arrived on the White Home for a proper arrival ceremony on Thursday morning.

Elysée introduced Thursday morning that Macron gave the president 4 items: a vinyl and CD of the soundtrack to the movie the primary couple noticed on their first date – “Un Homme et une Femme”, a cup from the home Christofle symbolizing hyperlinks between France and the US, a sweater from Home Saint James and a watch from LIP Horlogerie. He additionally gave the primary girl a replica of “Madame Bovary” and “The Plague, The Fall, Exile and the Kingdom, and Chosen Essays”, by Albert Camus. He gave Vice President Kamala Harris a mannequin of the Ariane 5 rocket.

The Macrons return for an additional state go to additionally follows a dramatic bounce-back in US-French relations in comparison with only a yr in the past, when Macron took the extraordinary step of recalling his ambassador to Washington over a US-Australia submarine deal that blindsided the French and price them a multi-billion greenback protection contract. The riff seems to largely be behind them, and Biden and Macron have deepened their ties much more over the past yr of their united efforts to fight Russia’s battle on Ukraine.

“All through all of those occasions, you’ll be able to anticipate to see on show each our long-shared historical past as allies, in addition to our deep partnership … on essentially the most pressing international challenges of in the present day and tomorrow,” White Home nationwide safety council spokesperson John Kirby informed reporters Monday. “Whereas there are particular areas the place we anticipate will make progress throughout this go to, I need to stress that this go to actually largely serves as a celebration of the sturdy footing of this relationship: one that’s well-rooted in our historical past, from the very beginnings of our nation, whereas additionally oriented squarely towards the long run – and it’s a really dynamic, thrilling future that we’re wanting ahead to.”

The majority of occasions surrounding Macron’s state go to are going down on Thursday.

After the official arrival ceremony on the White Home, Biden and Macron will maintain bilateral discussions. The 2 leaders are slated to hit on various points together with matters of frequent curiosity – equivalent to Ukraine, Iran and China, earlier than participating in a joint press convention.

“I absolutely anticipate, within the bigger capability right here, that the difficulty of China might be very excessive on the agenda over the following couple of days with President Macron right here,” Kirby informed reporters on Wednesday.

US and French officers don’t anticipate the go to to yield any main deliverables, however either side see it as a possibility for the 2 international locations to deepen their partnership on a slew of worldwide challenges. The 2 sides may even advance working group discussions that had been launched within the wake of final yr’s submarine affair to step up cooperation on house, our on-line world and power points.

Nonetheless, there are areas of disagreement which are anticipated to come back up.

One of many greatest factors of stress might be over billions of {dollars} in electrical automobile subsidies included within the Inflation Discount Act, which applies solely to these manufactured in North America. Macron has slammed the measure as protectionist and French officers stated he intends to boost the difficulty in conferences with Biden and congressional leaders.

On Thursday, Jill Biden and Brigitte Macron are additionally scheduled to go to Planet Phrase, a language-focused museum in Washington. A French official has additionally stated that President Macron is anticipated to attend a lunch on the US State Division and meet with a bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers.

Thursday night, the Macrons will return to the White Home for the primary state dinner of the Biden administration. French company embody movie director Claude Lelouch, Louvre Museum Director Laurence des Automobiles and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, in line with the French official.

The White Home has not unveiled who they’ve invited to attend Thursday night’s lavish dinner, however stated in a preview that New Orleans native Jon Batiste will carry out musical choices.

On Wednesday, Harris welcomed President Macron to NASA to rejoice the cooperation of each nations in house. The primary household additionally held a personal dinner with the Macrons forward of Thursday’s formal state dinner.

Over the past leg of their US go to, the Macrons will journey to New Orleans on Friday to spotlight new efforts to broaden French language schooling within the US.

This story and headline have been up to date with extra developments.