What should be remembered from the press conference of the French president and Joe Biden?
After the Macron couple arrived at the White House, we left them at the fireplace in the Oval Office. And it was almost two hours late when finally the French president and his host Joe Biden introduced themselves to the press after their private interviews. One of the highlights of this three-day state visit to Washington.
What should be remembered from this joint press conference? 20 minutes prepared a small summary for you.
On the state visit and Franco-American relations
Joe Biden was the first to speak as the host. The American president is “pleased with these conversations with Emmanuel Macron”. Which is “Emmanuel, became a friend”. The tenant of the White House continued the relations between the two nations as follows: “We have a common program, of course we may have differences of opinion. But if I had to give detailed information about all our cooperation, we would be here tonight.”
Same tribute from Emmanuel Macron, “very happy to share this moment”. For the French president, this Franco-American relationship “is built on a history that compels us. Whenever vital things were involved, we were there for each other. This should structure the rest.”
About the war in Ukraine
Again two people appeared lined up. “We continue to support the people of Ukraine in the face of this incredibly violent aggression,” said Joe Biden. We will hold Russia accountable for its actions.” Should we contact the Kremlin? “I will not contact Mr. Putin, I will be ready to talk to him when he decides to end the war,” the American president replied.
Emmanuel Macron took action, saying that Paris and Washington “condemn this war and the war crimes committed by Russia on Ukrainian soil”, especially that “Moscow wants to make winter impossible”.
On economics
This is a current point of tension between the two countries, and the topic that came up the most at this conference: the American industrial program, the “Inflation Reduction Act,” which is considered too protectionist by Paris. “We have the same goal: to invest heavily in clean energy. Our teams will continue to talk to each other, to coordinate us,” Joe tried to reassure Biden. While ensuring that US job creation will not come at the expense of Europe, he said, “The United States will never apologize for the plan we are going to put in place.”
What does Emmanuel Macron say about this “super aggressive” policy against France and the EU on Wednesday? “One of the results [de ce plan d’investissement américain]European projects may suffer from this, and this is not the will of the United States. So the goal is to “re-synchronize” on this topic, the discussion was completely clear. “These domino effects must be resolved, we want to succeed together, not against each other.”
Does he think that the American President Emmanuel Macron is reassured in this matter? “I’m sure. That’s my answer,” Joe Biden replied with a smile.
In a joint statement, the two heads of state also expressed their commitment to support Ukraine “as long as necessary” and to “coordinate” responses to “challenges put forward by China”. They also praised the courage of the Iranian demonstrators.
