Emmanuel Macron concludes his three-day state visit to the United States this Friday with a visit to New Orleans. The day after a sumptuous reception at the White House which sealed the French president’s “friendship” with his American counterpart Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron must spend less than twenty-four hours in this city of Louisiana, located in the south-west. east of the country.
“In New Orleans, in French-speaking land if there is one”, President Macron has indicated that he will announce an “ambitious” initiative: “the “French For All” fund, to support the learning of French everywhere where it is at stake in the United States, from kindergarten to university, especially with underprivileged audiences who can find in French a multiplier of opportunities, “he said Wednesday before the French community in Washington. He added that he wanted to renovate “the image of French in the United States, which is sometimes perhaps seen as elitist”.
In the “Vieux Carré”, or “French Quarter”
After General de Gaulle in 1960, Emmanuel Macron therefore chose to stop in New Orleans, formerly French and which was sold to the United States by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803. He should not fail to stroll through the streets of “ NoLa”, probably in the “Vieux Carré”, or “French Quarter”, the very lively historic center of this city, whose population is overwhelmingly African-American.
The Head of State will therefore “celebrate a Franco-American heritage” but also “pay tribute to the resilience of a large American city” bereaved by Hurricane Katrina which had killed more than 1,800 people and billions of dollars in damage in 2005.
Interviews are thus planned with “companies committed to energy and climate issues”, according to the presidency. Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and Louisiana Governor John Edwards must also sign an agreement on energy transition in this “extremely proactive” oil and gas state in the eyes of Paris.
Accompanied by film director Claude Lelouch and dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, Emmanuel Macron will also meet actors from cultural life. “We have a history in New Orleans and important things to say on the spot which concern both our history and what we want to do for the future”, let know this Friday morning the Elysée.