WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House on Thursday to celebrate more than 200 years of U.S.-French relations and a renewed alliance in fighting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Biden is hosting Macron at the first state visit since the U.S. leader took office in early 2021. Biden and his wife Jill greeted Macron and his wife Brigitte with hugs, kisses and broad smiles
The two couples, who dined together informally on Wednesday, took part in a South Lawn ceremony that featured a military honor guard, a red-jacketed colonial band with the Fife and Drum Corps and national anthems.
Biden welcomed France as “our oldest ally, our unwavering partner in freedom’s cause” in opening remarks at the ceremony. Both leaders celebrated their countries’ alliance against Russian President Putin and as defenders of democracy.
“France and the United States are facing down Vladimir Putin’s grasping ambition for conquest, and Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, which has once more shattered peace on the continent of Europe,” Mr. Biden said.
“France and the United States are once again defending the democratic values and universal human rights which are the heart of both our nations.”
Macron said the two nations needed to become brothers in arms once again in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and had a shared responsibility to protect democracies on both sides of the ocean that are being shaken by doubts.
“Our new frontiers are there, and it is our shared responsibility to respond to this,” the French president said.
Biden and Macron smiled as they shared asides and appeared at ease with each other. Before their talks, they said they would discuss high-tech commerce and the indirect impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on economies.
They planned to hold a news conference at 11:45 a.m. EST (1645 GMT). The Macrons arrived in Washington on Tuesday for his second state visit to the United States since taking office in 2017.
Biden, 80, and Macron, 44, have had many meetings at international gatherings but this will be the most amount of time they have spent together. A glittering state dinner was planned, with 200 Maine lobsters flown in for the occasion.
Among the gifts Macron brought was a vinyl and CD version of the original soundtrack of Claude Lelouch’s 1966 film “Un Homme et une Femme,” the film the Bidens went to see on their first date, according to the Elysee Palace.
The Bidens presented Macron with a custom mirror made of fallen wood from the White House grounds and a custom vinyl record collection of great American musicians.
‘SUPER AGGRESSIVE’ US LAW
Macron is expected to raise French and European concerns about subsidies in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a $430 billion bill that offers massive subsidies for U.S.-made products and is aimed at addressing the climate crisis.
European leaders say the legislative package signed by Biden in August is unfair to non-American companies and would be a serious blow to their economies as Europe deals with the fallout from Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine.
At a meeting on Wednesday with U.S. lawmakers, Macron said the act was “super aggressive” toward European companies, one participant told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Macron told the French community in Washington that the cost of the war in Ukraine was much higher in Europe than in the United States and that Europe risked falling behind if the subsidies siphoned new investments. This could “fragment the West,” he said.
There was no sign that Biden was prepared to make concessions.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the legislation “presents significant opportunities for European firms as well as benefits to EU energy security” when asked about European concerns.
NATO DIFFERENCES
Both leaders have sought to bolster support for the Ukrainian military.
NATO ministers met in Bucharest and pledged more aid to Ukraine to help against Russia’s attacks on energy infrastructure as winter bites.
The alliance, of which the United States and France are founding members, was also discussing how to address challenges posed by China’s military buildup and its cooperation with Russia, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Macron has said in the past that China should not be a focus for NATO.
The formal dinner in a pavilion on the White House South Lawn will feature music from Jon Batiste, Chardonnay from the Napa Valley and cheeses from Oregon, California and Wisconsin.
(Reporting By Steve Holland and Michel Rose; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Steve Holland and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Howard Goller, Heather Timmons and David Gregorio)
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