Pak Sahafat – The President of France is going to make an official visit to the United States, the main goal of which is to reduce the tension in diplomatic relations between Paris and Washington.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency’s report from the French media on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron will visit America this week for the second time in his presidency. Macron, who had previously visited the United States during Donald Trump’s presidency, is scheduled to return to Washington on Tuesday for a three-day trip with the highest diplomatic formalities to meet with Joe Biden.
Earlier in September, White House spokesperson Karin Jean-Pierre considered this trip a proof of the depth and strength of the relations between America and France and called Paris the country’s oldest ally.
The French Presidential Palace also confirmed this trip and spoke of the “very special relationship” and “solid alliance” between the two countries, which is nourished by “rich and dynamic dialogues”.
Historian Nicole Basharan told the “20 Minutes” news website about the level of this meeting: This trip is not a simple meeting, and the official welcome ceremony with the sound of a cannon and a dinner with special guests who are invited according to the French guest are part of the program.
But the truth is that the two countries have recently experienced many tensions in bilateral relations.
Akos Pact; An unprecedented gap of mistrust in French-American relations
The French weekly newspaper “Journal de Dimanche” wrote about this meeting: One year after the “betrayal” of America and England to France in the tripartite security agreement that was signed with the exclusion of France and Australia, Washington invited the first foreign country for a meeting in highest government level has invited Paris.
According to White House officials, this “meeting at the highest level of diplomacy” is planned, and no French president has received this privilege twice in his tenure.
This weekly newspaper wrote: Elyse seems to consider the Akos incident as a matter of the past. In this controversial event, Paris called its ambassador in Washington; An unprecedented action in the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Now Philippe Etienne is the recalled ambassador and veteran diplomat who is trying to revive this alliance in the atmosphere of anger and mistrust resulting from the war in Ukraine.
The conclusion of the “AUKUS” security agreement between England, the United States and Australia last year excluded France from the huge contract to sell submarines to Canberra. The cancellation of this important agreement by Australia last fall caused a diplomatic crisis between this country and France.
ACOS was concluded in silence and without coordination with the European Union, and based on this agreement, the United States and the United Kingdom will help Australia to develop and deploy nuclear submarines and increase the military presence of the West in the Pacific region.
Finally, after a period of cold relations between France and Australia, the Prime Minister of this country announced in June of this year that the French company that manufactures submarines has accepted the amount of 555 million Euros as compensation for the unilateral termination of the 56 billion Euros ACOS by Canberra.
American deflation law and the voice of European protest
But another issue that has recently overshadowed Paris-Washington diplomatic relations is the “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA) in America. According to this law, tax discounts are allocated to electric car buyers who are satisfied with American-made cars, and other important credits are allocated only to domestic industries for domestic clean energy projects such as solar, wind, nuclear and carbon absorption technologies. European countries, especially Germany and France, consider this law as an action contrary to the laws of free trade and protest against it.
According to some media, in their last meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Schulz have reached an agreement on how Europe will react to the American action that encourages its citizens to buy products made in their own country. In an interview with four European newspapers, the French Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, said that subsidy competition is against all the principles of international trade, and Europeans should give a united and strong response to American subsidies.
The French newspaper “Le Figaro” wrote about Macron’s visit to America: The President of France hopes to be able to benefit from an “exception” for the return of industrial investment companies, especially in the energy transmission sector, in his meeting with his American counterpart. One of Macron’s advisers says: It is very important to adjust the consequences of the implementation of the American deflation law.
This French newspaper writes in the hopes of Macron for this trip and his return with a hand full of cooperation agreements and, most importantly, to reduce the consequences of the American deflationary law for Europe: If the French president fails in this regard, nothing will remain of this trip except for souvenir photos of a first-class welcome in the capital of the world’s first power.
History of Paris-Washington relations; Common interests from Louisiana to Lebanon
The history of American-French relations goes back to the wars of independence and the influence of a figure like the Marquis de Lafayette, the first and only French commander of the American Navy. This French politician and general was actively involved in both the French and American revolutions.
Another important event in the history of relations between the two countries took place in 1803. When Napoleon Bonaparte, as the first consul of France, sold the vast French possessions in America, called Louisiana, to the United States for a small sum.
The relations between the two countries were strengthened during the two world wars and continued until cooperation within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). After the September 11 incident, Jacques Chirac, the president of France at the time, quickly traveled to Washington to personally deliver his message of sympathy to America. But this support did not continue until the decision of the American government to invade Iraq, and Paris became one of the staunch opponents of the American invasion policy.
Karim Emil Bitar, Research Director of International and Strategic Relations Institute, believes: France and the United States have common interests in the Persian Gulf, and in the case of Lebanon, the United States relies on France to prevent a more serious crisis. Due to their ideological affinity, these two countries are willing to share international roles with each other or play a complementary role.
Referring to the situation caused by the war in Ukraine, he added: Stabilizing these relations becomes more important when Russia is looking for allies in Europe. Since Brexit, France has played a key role in the EU to maintain as close a position as possible to the United States.
Referring to the stability of Paris-Washington diplomatic relations over the years, this American foreign policy expert said: Macron was one of the two presidents who was hosted by America at the highest level of ceremonies during the time of Trump. Although this proximity could not prevent the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate agreement and the nuclear agreement with Iran.
With all that has been said about this historical record, the Akos agreement as well as the secret negotiations between the US and Australia during the G20 meeting in France are considered a “betrayal”.
Basharan, who calls Joe Biden a “veteran of diplomacy”, believes that one of the purposes of inviting Macron to Washington is to ease relations after the Akos case.
Bitar also believes that spreading the red carpet for the President of France is a way to definitively move on from past events and strengthen and prolong the relations between the two countries.
According to Elysee, six ministers, including Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, a number of members of parliament, as well as heads of large companies such as Total, will accompany Macron on this trip, the official date of which is announced on November 30.