President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the two countries’ partnership during an official visit in Paris on Saturday.
“We are allies. We will always be allies. And these are the values that bind us 80 years later,” Marcon said. His toast to Biden at a state dinner on Saturday.
President Biden, who visited France last week to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, began his state visit on Saturday with a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe and a military parade to the Elysee Palace, where President Biden and President Macron held an official meeting.
President Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, later hosted a state dinner at the palace for President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
In his toast, Macron said the two countries had a “long and deep friendship” and noted they agreed on a range of global security issues.
“We are united when it comes to defending our values. So, of course, our relationship is a little special because you are Americans and we are French,” Macron said, before adding, “And the love you have for France and your preparations to take part in the Olympic and Paralympic Games show that you remain our best allies more than ever. United we stand, divided we fall.”
Speaking after Macron, Biden called France “our first ally” and thanked the country for its support dating back to the War of Independence.
“Since then, we’ve remained united, unyielding and indomitable in our partnership,” Biden said. “That’s how democracy works.”
“On behalf of all Americans, I want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We’re very grateful,” he added.
The two leaders Meeting Macron also discussed the Middle East, Ukraine and trade on the same day. The two leaders also discussed preventing the war between Israel and Hamas from escalating regionally, with Macron saying he was “redoubled efforts” to prevent the war from escalating, particularly in Lebanon. Reuters reported.
The previous day, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris and apologized for a lack of US financial support for the embattled country.
“I apologize for not knowing for weeks what was going to pass on the funding side, because we struggled to get a bill through that had the funding that we needed to pass. Some very conservative members of Congress were delaying it. But we finally got it through,” Biden said.
