{"id":42934,"date":"2024-06-09T07:38:27","date_gmt":"2024-06-09T07:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=42934"},"modified":"2026-07-10T02:58:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T02:58:53","slug":"france-is-our-first-friend-biden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2024\/06\/09\/france-is-our-first-friend-biden\/","title":{"rendered":"France is our first friend- Biden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

President\u00a0Joe Biden<\/strong>\u00a0said France was America\u2019s \u201cfirst friend\u201d at its founding and is one of its closest allies more than two centuries later as he was honored with a state visit Saturday by French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at showing off their partnership on global security issues and easing past trade tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cUnited we stand, divided we fall,\u201d Macron said in toasting Biden at a state dinner. \u201cAllied we are and allied we will stay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden and Macron attended ceremonies marking the\u00a080th anniversary of D-Day<\/strong>\u00a0on Thursday and met separately the following day with\u00a0Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris<\/strong>. The leaders both used those engagements used to underscore the urgent need to support Kyiv\u2019s fight against Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But Macron and Biden have often chafed at the pace of support for Ukraine, especially as the United States, by far the largest contributor to Kyiv\u2019s defense, was forced to pause aid shipments for months while congressional Republicans held up an assistance package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state visit began Saturday with a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, including a wreath-laying at France\u2019s tomb of the unknown soldier, and a military parade along the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es leading to the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace, where the two held official meetings and delivered public statements. Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, hosted state dinner at the palace for Biden and his wife, Jill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American president followed Macron\u2019s toast by saying the U.S. and France have been \u201cunyielding as well as unwavering in our partnership,\u201d adding, \u201cThat\u2019s what democracies do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden and Macron put the war in Ukraine at the top of Saturday\u2019s agenda, but it was the strength of the countries\u2019long alliance, fortified at Normandy 80 years ago but with roots far deeper, that was the centerpiece of the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling himself a student of French history, Biden said the visit was a \u201cgreat honor\u201d and he noted that America\u2019s ties to France date to the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrance was our first friend,\u201d Biden said. \u201cIt remains one of our best friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macron praised Biden as not just the leader of a world power but also for bringing the \u201cclarity and loyalty of a partner that loves and respects the Europeans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It appeared to be a subtle criticism of former President Donald Trump, whose \u201cAmerica First\u201d foreign policy has shaken European leaders. They are now contending, gingerly, with the possibility of his return to power next year should the presumptive Republican nominee defeat the Democratic incumbent in November\u2019s election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, in a statement of principles<\/strong> that the presidents called a road map, they cited the legacy of the U.S.-French relationship and \u201cthe price for peace and freedom\u201d paid by past generations in reaffirming their commitment to \u201ca Europe, whole, free and at peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macron hosted Trump for Bastille Day in 2017, and the French president came to Washington for a state visit in 2018 before their relationship soured. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite disagreements over whether to send allies trainers onto Ukrainian soil to support the country\u2019s defense against Russia\u2019s invasion, Macron insisted that, \u201cI think we see eye to eye on this war raging in Ukraine. He tempered his previous concerns about U.S. commitment to Europe \u2014 which he has used to argue that the continent must do more to provide for its own defense \u2014 to praise Biden\u2019s leadership: \u201cThank you for being at Europe\u2019s side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macron expressed hope that when the Group of Seven leaders meet this coming week in Italy they will agree to a $50 billion \u201csolidarity fund\u201d for Ukraine that will be backed by sanctioned Russian assets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two leaders also celebrated the rescue Saturday by Israeli forces of four hostages taken by Hamas. \u201cWe won\u2019t stop working until all the hostages come home and a cease-fire is reached,\u201d Biden said as Macron called out the Israeli government for not doing more to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macron said he supported a Biden-promoted cease-fire proposal that would allow a surge of humanitarian assistance into the territory and allow for the release of more hostages. The U.S. has said it is awaiting Hamas\u2019formal response to the potential deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French leader raised the issue of U.S. trade practices that he has often criticized, including the Inflation Reduction Act, which favors American-made climate technology such as electric vehicles. Macron said the U.S., like China, has \u201cdecided not to respect the rules of global trade\u201d by shoring up protections and subsidies while Europe\u2019s industry remains open and is stuck in overregulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the pair met outside the palace, Biden appeared to suggest to his host that that the U.S. and Europe could \u201ccoordinate together,\u201d and he was heard telling Macron about his most recent conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was objecting to steep U.S. tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden hosted Macron in December 2022 at the White House for the first state visit of his presidency<\/strong> as the COVID-19 pandemic receded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the attendees at Saturday\u2019s dinner was World War II veteran Harold Terens<\/strong> and his sweetheart Jeanne Swerlin, who were married<\/strong> Saturday inland of the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCongrats to newlyweds,\u201d Macron said, leading the crowd in cheers and applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the president\u2019s trip draws to a close, the far right is likely to emerge as one of the biggest winners<\/strong> in Sunday\u2019s European Parliament election while Macron\u2019s pro-European Union movement<\/strong> is flagging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President\u00a0Joe Biden\u00a0said France was America\u2019s \u201cfirst friend\u201d at its founding and is one of its closest allies more than two centuries later as he was honored with a state visit Saturday by French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at showing off their partnership on global security issues and easing past trade tensions. \u201cUnited we stand, divided […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":42937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[12487,6850,6728,5178,695,12292,7421,8590,5222,5200,9171,11295,913,911,524,6621,9505,2404,1195,8123,8008,6159,11638,5575,4028,6351,9407,6225,9643,2629,2264,5930,12234,12173,6546,5252,1392,2471,5342,9974,414,9349,5572,12287,12727,5485,1253,1198,5396,7574,3805,11243,12103,6431,6944,6575,3457,5217,5655,9832,6059,12244,6675,10329,5180,5555,6714,7231,9262,11255,5251,2354,12790,6571,2982,12851,36,594,7898,8327,7932],"class_list":["post-42934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","tag-agenda","tag-aid","tag-alliance","tag-biden","tag-brigitte","tag-brigitte-macron","tag-chinese","tag-conversation","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-crowd","tag-d-day","tag-democratic","tag-election","tag-emmanuel-macron","tag-europe","tag-european","tag-european-parliament","tag-european-union","tag-eye","tag-far-right","tag-fire","tag-forced","tag-france","tag-freedom","tag-french","tag-french-president-emmanuel-macron","tag-friends","tag-fund","tag-gaza","tag-government","tag-hamas","tag-host","tag-hostages","tag-inflation","tag-invasion","tag-italy","tag-joe-biden","tag-kyiv","tag-leadership","tag-macron","tag-married","tag-military","tag-movement","tag-package","tag-pandemic","tag-paris","tag-parliament","tag-peace","tag-presidency","tag-president","tag-president-xi","tag-price","tag-release","tag-republican","tag-republicans","tag-russia","tag-russian","tag-security","tag-soldier","tag-student","tag-tariffs","tag-technology","tag-trade","tag-ukraine","tag-ukrainian","tag-ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy","tag-union","tag-united-states","tag-volodymyr-zelenskyy","tag-war","tag-washington","tag-weekend","tag-white","tag-white-house","tag-winners","tag-world","tag-who","tag-xi","tag-xi-jinping","tag-zelenskyy"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42934"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42938,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42934\/revisions\/42938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}