The first state dinner of the government will be held at the White House on December 1 with an invitation from President Joe Biden to French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, made the statement at the start of the briefing on Monday.
The Biden-Harris administration’s first state visit, she said. It will highlight the close and long-lasting ties that the United States has with France, its oldest ally.
Since the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia strained ties with France over the creation of the trilateral AUKUS agreement, Australia has canceled a lucrative submarine contract with the French government.
Prior to the G20 conference in Rome, Italy, last year, Biden made an effort to repair his relationship with Macron and made meeting with him a top priority.
Brigitte Macron was also taken out for wine by First Lady Jill Biden.
When questioned whether France was chosen because the relationship needed to be repaired following the submarine blunder, Jean-Pierre remained silent.
She said, “This is a treasured, profoundly loved friendship.”
When Biden dines with the Macrons, he will have been in office for 22 months.
Many of the life events that the president usually holds at the White House have been postponed, according to Jean-Pierre.
A state dinner is customarily hosted by the president during the first year of office; however, former President Donald Trump had his state dinner in April 2018 and invited the Macrons.
In September 2019, Trump invited Australia for a second state dinner.
Trump was also unable to organize significant events at the White House because of the COVID outbreak.
The previous time Biden and Macron interacted, they spoke on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly, albeit there was no formal bilateral encounter.