President Joe Biden inaugurated close ties between the United States and France on Saturday when French President Emmanuel Macron hosted his American counterpart for an official state visit in Paris.
“This week we once again showed the world the power of allies, what we can achieve when we stand together. That is what the relationship between France and the United States is an example of,” Biden said in an address to Macron from the Élysée.
The trappings of the visit come as the US has strengthened its alliance with its oldest ally amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, even as signs of division have emerged over the Middle East conflict.
Macron welcomed the president and first lady Jill Biden with a formal welcome ceremony, starting at Paris’s landmark, the Arc de Triomphe. The Bidens arrived at the monument by motorcade, where they were greeted by Macron and the French first lady Brigitte Macron.
The leaders paid their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and placed the end of a great sword in the eternal flame. A French military choir sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” followed by “La Marseillaise.” Biden and Macron observed a flyover before greeting officials from a French delegation as bagpipes played “Amazing Grace.”
The Bidens and Macrons signed a guest book before boarding their respective vehicles, which slowly drove down the Champs-Élysées flanked by military personnel and American and French flags. The normally busy Parisian thoroughfare was cleared of pedestrians and there were significant road closures in the area.
Biden described Saturday’s arrival ceremony as a “moving experience.”
“It was a moving experience for a student of history to be on the Champs Élysée today – that was a moving experience for us, the whole delegation,” he said.
The Bidens arrived at the Elysée Palace, the official residence of the French president, where the leaders walked a red carpet and posed for photos before embarking on a working lunch. In the evening, the Macrons will welcome the Bidens back to the Élsyée Palace for a state dinner.
Macron returns the favor to Biden, who hosted the French president in December 2022 for a state visit to the White House, the government’s first.
Biden noted that the US will celebrate Independence Day, the Fourth of July, next month.
“This achievement would not have been possible… had it not been for France coming to our aid. We are a nation, largely because of France. You intervened when we needed help,” he said.
France, Biden said: “Was our first friend. Remains one of our best friends.”
“Today I proudly stand with France and support freedom and democracy around the world. That is what this spectacular week is all about,” he said.
There has been a lot for the leaders to discuss.
Macron, like other US allies, has privately questioned the future of US leadership in the world if Biden were to lose the November election to former President Donald Trump, with whom he had a more complicated relationship.
Biden has often recalled a meeting with world leaders at a G7 meeting early in his term, where he declared, “America is back.”
“And the French leader looked at me and said, ‘For how long?’” Biden said with a laugh at a March fundraiser in New York City. “It wasn’t humorous. He said – he meant it: ‘For how long?’”
Biden has often pointed to those concerns among his colleagues as he argued for a second term, though Europe has also faced its own rising wave of populism.
As for Ukraine, both countries have expressed their support for the war-torn country. Biden announced a new $225 billion aid package on Friday, while apologizing to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for Congress’s delay.
And for his part, Macron has been one of the key leaders in the European response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. France has doubled its defense budget, announced it would exceed the NATO benchmark of 2% defense spending and restarted domestic production of crucial military inputs.
Biden cited the two countries’ support for Ukraine as an example of their close relationship.
“We know what will happen if (Russian President Vladimir) Putin manages to subjugate Ukraine. … And we know that Putin won’t stop at Ukraine – it’s not just about Ukraine, it’s about much more than just Ukraine. All of Europe will be threatened. We will not let that happen,” Biden said, repeating: “We will not walk away.”
He also mentioned cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, in the Middle East and on climate change.
Regarding the war between Israel and Hamas, Macron approved a ceasefire proposal drafted by Biden message on X last week: “The war in Gaza must end. We support the American proposal for a lasting peace.”
But France broke with Western allies last month when the Foreign Ministry expressed support for the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar. Biden had called the ICC’s decision “outrageous.”
Both Macron and Biden welcomed the news of the rescue of four Israeli hostages captured by Hamas on October 7. CNN has reported that a US cell in Israel supported efforts to rescue four Israeli hostages, working with Israeli forces on the operation. Biden used the moment to push for the ceasefire proposal he laid out last week.
“I want to echo President Macron’s comments welcoming the safe rescue of four hostages returned to their families in Israel,” Biden said.
He continued: “We will not stop working until all hostages are home and a ceasefire is reached. That is essential for this to happen.”
However, the US-French relationship has improved dramatically since its low point at the start of the Biden administration. In September 2021, Macron took the extraordinary step of recalling his ambassador to Washington over a US-Australia submarine deal that blindsided the French and cost them a multi-billion dollar defense contract.
“They have a warm and close relationship,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday evening. “One of the things that the president respects and admires about President Macron is that he is as honest and forthright as President Joe Biden. That’s what he wants to see in a friend, in an ally.”
Biden and Macron are also expected to discuss deepening maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, with an announcement expected to build maritime law enforcement capacity and strengthen US-France technical cooperation on port security in the region will increase, Kirby said.
“I think you’ll see that we’re as close as we’ve ever been with our French allies,” Kirby added.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the location of the state dinner.
CNN’s Kayla Tausche and Xiaofei Xu contributed to this report
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