The President of the Republic concludes his visit to the United States with a visit to New Orleans, sold to the Americans by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803.
MO12345LEMONDE with AFP
The President of the Republic ends his American visit on the side of the Bayous. Emmanuel Macron concludes, Friday, December 2, his three-day state visit to the United States on Friday, December 2, by a visit to New Orleans, an emblematic city of Franco-American historical ties, where he will promote the Francophonie.
The day after a sumptuous reception at the White House which sealed the “friendship” of the French president with his American counterpart, Joe Biden, he must spend less than twenty-four hours in the city of Louisiana, in the south-east of the country. Formerly French, “New Orleans” was sold in the United States by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803.
The president said he would announce an “ambitious” initiative in New Orleans, “French-speaking land if it is”. It is the “French for all fund, to support learning French wherever it is at stake in the United States, from kindergarten to university, especially with disadvantaged audiences that can find a multiplier in French of opportunities, “he said on Wednesday in front of the French community in Washington.
” resilience “after Hurricane Katrina
After General de Gaulle in 1960, Emmanuel Macron therefore chose to stop in New Orleans. He should not fail to wander in the streets of “Nola”, probably in the old Carré or French quarter, the very lively historic center of this city, whose population is mostly African-American.
“We have a story in New Orleans and important things to say on the spot that concern both our history and what we want to do for the rest,” said the Elysée. The head of state will therefore “celebrate a Franco-American heritage”, but also “pay tribute to the resilience of a big American city” bereaved by Hurricane Katrina which left more than 1,800 dead and billions of Dollars of damage in 2005.
Interviews are planned with “companies engaged on energy and climate issues”, according to the presidency. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, and the governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, must also sign an agreement on the energy transition in this “extremely proactive” gas and oil state in the matter, in the eyes of Paris.
Accompanied by the director of cinema Claude Lelouch and the dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, Emmanuel Macron will also meet actors of cultural life in this city, cradle of jazz, the day after a gala dinner in the White House led by Virtuoso pianist Jon Batiste, from a family of New Orleans musicians.
Thursday, during an overflowing visit to diplomatic affection, Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden displayed their unity on Ukraine, demonstrating their desire to seek a way to war together, and rounded up the angles on disputes economic which had chanted the preparation of their tête-à-tête in the oval office, in particular the government plan Inflation Act (IRA), accused in Europe of favoring American companies in defiance of free competition.