Wanderlust

Tag: Emmanuel Macron

  • Macron aide: French police raid disgraced Benalla’s administrative center

    Symbol copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Benalla and Mr Macron pictured in combination on Bastille Day this month

    “the one individual chargeable for this affair is me,” he stated. “If they are on the lookout for any individual to carry responsible, he is proper in front of you. they are able to come and get me.”

    Lawmakers have been not easy to understand why the presidency didn’t act quicker because the inner minister admitted he knew of the video on 2 Would Possibly.

    Mr Macron again criticised participants of the media on Wednesday, telling journalists from shops: “you’ve been saying a whole lot of nonsense over the previous few days.”

    Dismissive of the fourth estate

    By Lucy Williamson, BBC Paris correspondent

    Emmanuel Macron has been cautious of the media ever on account that he entered the Elysée Palace.

    His tightly managed operation may not stand for the kind of grubby insights given away through his predecessor, as an alternative preferring a more faraway, virtually regal symbol for the president, above the fray of media scrabble.

    But hardly has this champion of democratic values been so overtly dismissive of the fourth estate.

    The heavy-passed actions of Alexandre Benalla have turned up the heat on President Macron, because Le Monde published a video final week appearing the presidential bodyguard impersonating a police officer all over Might Day demonstrations, hauling off one protestor and beating every other one.

    Mr Benalla has considering the fact that been fired, however the scandal over his preliminary – allegedly lenient – treatment through the Elysée precipitated parliament to break its customary deliberations this week, and has led to the conservative opposition calling for a vote of no trust within the government.

    Its impact – a few are even calling it France’s Watergate – turns out overblown, most likely inflated by means of a dearth of stories prior to the summer season holiday, however Mr Macron’s obvious anger at being focused like this says as much about his sort of management because the media itself.

    Mr Macron pushed aside Mr Benalla from his position as assistant to the French president’s leader of workforce on Friday.

    On Sunday, charges were introduced in opposition to Mr Benalla, who’s accused of attack with an partner, interfering in police paintings, impersonating a police officer and illegally receiving surveillance footage.

    On Monday, the president’s most sensible bodyguard throughout closing year’s election marketing campaign defended his actions, claiming that he was once “lending a hand” to the rebellion officers at the scene after he was “invited to observe” their operations.

    He believes his behaviour was being exploited for “media and political ends”, his attorneys stated.

    (more…)

  • French President Macron dabs with French gamers

    Video Macron dabs with French players

    (more…)

  • Macron aide Benalla in French probe for beating protester

    Alexandre Benalla acted as security guard for Emmanuel Macron during his presidential campaign Image copyright Getty Images Symbol caption Alexandre Benalla (R) played a number one safety role throughout Emmanuel Macron’s presidential campaign

    French prosecutors are investigating a senior presidential aide, who attacked protesters in Paris at the same time as wearing a police visor.

    Alexandre Benalla, an assistant to President Emmanuel Macron’s chief of body of workers, used to be filmed targeting a girl and a person throughout Might Day protests.

    He was once stuck on video by way of a student activist and left the scene as soon as challenged on camera.

    He was once recognized from the video by way of French newspaper Le Monde.

    The incident happened in a popular vacationer spot at Place de l. a. Contrescarpe within the fifth district of Paris.

    it is not clear if Mr Benalla was attending the disturbance in any roughly respectable capability. Different photographs show him wearing a police armband.

    Elysée palace spokesman Bruno Roger-Petit mentioned Mr Benalla were suspended for 2 weeks with out pay from FOUR to 19 Would Possibly, a punishment defined as the heaviest up to now meted out to a head of venture working on the presidential office.

    He had also been moved out of his function of organising security for the president’s visits.

    However, French TV stated that Mr Benalla had additionally been managing security for 2 key events this month, together with the parade of the arena Cup-profitable France soccer group alongside the Champs-Elysées.

    Paris prosecutors introduced on Thursday they had been commencing a initial investigation into the alleged assault.

    Before Mr Benalla joined the presidential workforce he had the function of head of safety right through Mr Macron’s election campaign in 2017.

    Asked if he had trust in his bodyguard on Wednesday night time, President Macron pointed to a member of his entourage. “My bodyguard’s over there,” he said.

  • France’s Macron attracts fireplace over dear tableware order

    Emmanuel Macron's presidency defended the porcelain order, saying a modern table service was needed for large state dinners© Provided by AFP Emmanuel Macron’s presidency defended the porcelain order, announcing a modern table carrier used to be wanted for large state dinners

    French President Emmanuel Macron has been roasted on social media for ordering a custom set of porcelain tableware reportedly value part a million euros, days after complaining about the “crazy quantities of dough” spent on social safety.

    Loading...

    Load Error

    The tradition ministry allotted some 50,000 euros ($58,000) to pay around 30 artists selected to submit proposals for the brand new “Elysee Blue” bone china assortment.

    French investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine suggested Wednesday that at present listing costs — a unmarried, unadorned plate sells for 400 euros — the 1,TWO HUNDRED pieces of tableware may price no less than 500,000 euros.

    The winner of the competition was once French visible artist Evariste Richer, who will design the items produced through the celebrated Sevres porcelain manufacturing unit, a state-owned company founded underneath the reign of Louis XV to supply royal china.

    The presidency on Thursday defended the order, announcing a contemporary desk provider used to be wanted for enormous state dinners and other gatherings, which can include up to 300 guests, because the present assortment dated from the 1950s.

    It additionally mentioned the associated fee of the brand new assortment, to be brought over three years, can be lined by way of the once a year subsidies to the Sevres manufacturing unit, that are anticipated to succeed in about 4.5 million euros this yr.

    The order will not lead to larger subsidies, it added.

    But the pricey collection comes at an inopportune time, as Macron and his govt appear to be making ready voters for receive advantages cuts.

    In a video launched by his staff on social media this week, Macron — who campaigned on a pledge to cut spending — assails social spending in in particular blunt language.

    “Our social coverage, have a look at it: we spend a crazy amount of dough on social security and the folk are terrible. They’re born terrible they usually keep bad. those who grow to be terrible, keep bad,” he said.

    The feedback aren’t prone to help him shake off the label of “president of the rich”, which has caught on account that he pushed thru changes to labour rules ultimate 12 months making it easier for firms to disregard employees.

    Using the hashtag #VaisselleGate (DishesGate), loads of Twitter users mocked the president’s transfer, many posting images depicting the primary couple as disdainful royalists.

    “Macron spends ‘loopy amount of dough’ on new dishes for the Elysee!” tweeted Socialist chief Olivier Faure.

  • Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron state visit to focus on Iran nuclear deal

    President Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday for the administration’s first state visit, cementing the close alliance between the two countries with a whirlwind of events that i

    President Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday for the administration’s first state visit, cementing the close alliance between the two countries with a whirlwind of events that include a Marine One helicopter tour of Washington and a private dinner at Mount Vernon.

    On the business side of visit, Mr. Trump and Mr. Macron will broach trade and military issues, including the touchy subject of the Iran nuclear deal in which the two men take opposite views.

    Mr. Trump wants to scuttle the Obama-era agreement with Iran, and he could move to withdraw the U.S. as soon as next month. Mr. Macron has urged Mr. Trump to reconsider.

    “The president has been extremely clear that he thinks it is a bad deal. That certainly hasn’t changed,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

    Still, she said the president would listen to arguments for how the deal could be improved to benefit the American people.

    In New York City on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said it’s up to the European signatories of the nuclear deal to convince President Trump not to exit the controversial accord.

    “It is either all or nothing,” Mr. Zarif tweeted. “European leaders should encourage Trump not just to stay in the nuclear deal, but more important to begin implementing his part of the bargain in good faith.”

    Mr. Zarif’s comments followed vows from other Iranian officials to “shred” the nuclear agreement if Washington withdraws.

    On Tuesday night, Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host the French president and his wife, Bridgette Macron, at his presidency’s first state dinner. The main course will be rack of spring lamb, and the entertainment will be a performance by the Washington National Opera from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, according to the White House.

    “This visit will celebrate the long and enduring friendship between France and the U.S.,” said Mrs. Sanders.

    Mr. Trump waited longer than many of his predecessors to host a state visit. He is the first president since Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s to finish his first year in office without one.

    Although they appear to be political opposites, Mr. Trump and Mr. Macron made fast friends when they met at a NATO summit. The bond grew stronger when Mr. Macron hosted Mr. Trump in Paris for Bastille Day.

    “They are not such an odd couple when you scratch the surface,” said Michael C. Desch, director of the Notre Dame International Security Center.

    He referred to Mr. Trump as a Francophile.

    “At least in terms of the pomp and circumstance of French governmental ceremonies. Remember that it was at a Bastille Day parade that the president got the idea for a military parade here,” said Mr. Desch. “Also, they share a surprising number of similarities, both personal, both political outsiders and businessmen, to substantive: Syria and the war on ISIS.”

    For the state dinner, Mr. Trump broke with tradition by not inviting journalists or any Democratic members of Congress.

    He also is hosting a smaller gathering than the White House soirees thrown by his predecessor.

    Mr. Trump has about 150 guests on the list. The guests at President Obama’s state dinners numbered in the hundreds, which required a huge tent on the South Lawn because there wasn’t a room large enough inside the White House to accommodate so many people.

    Mr. Obama’s first state dinner was for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and featured vegetarian food. The event was marred by party crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi, winemakers from Virginia who were angling for a spot on the reality TV show “Real Housewives of D.C.”

    The couple’s ability to crash the state dinner, including getting photos with Vice President Joseph R. Biden, prompted a Secret Service security review and led to the resignation of White House social secretary Desiree Rogers.

    Mr. Obama and President Clinton held their first state dinners in November of their first year in office. President George W. Bush had his in September of his first year.

    In their eight years as president, Mr. Obama and Mr. Bush hosted 13 state dinners. Mr. Clinton threw 28 state dinners.

    Mrs. Trump, who is responsible for organizing nearly every detail of the visit and the grand state dinner, has spent months planning events for the Macrons’ three-day visit to the capital.

    “The menu will be a showcase of the best of America’s cuisines and traditions, with nuances of French influences prepared by the renowned White House Executive Chef, Christeta Comerford,” the White House said in a statement outlining details of the state visit and dinner.

    The first course at the state dinner will be goat cheese gateau, tomato jam, buttermilk biscuit crumbles and young variegated lettuces. The main course includes rack of spring lamb, burnt cipollini soubise and Carolina gold rice jambalaya.

    Dessert will be nectarine tart and creme fraiche ice cream.

    “The wines were selected to complement the menu and embody the historic friendship between the United States and France, which dates back to the American Revolution,” said the White House.

    Mr. Trump does not drink alcohol, but Mr. Macron, who has a reputation for following a strict diet, is known to drink wine for lunch and dinner.

    The wines for the state dinner include Domaine Serene Chardonnay Evenstad Reserve from 2015, which is the product of American and French collaboration. The wine was aged in 40 percent French oak barrels for more than 12 months, according to the White House.

  • Business and pleasure on menu for Macron’s second day in US

    A sit-down between President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron followed by a joint news conference highlight the business portion of the French leader’s second day in Washington.

    WASHINGTON (AP) – A sit-down between President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron followed by a joint news conference highlight the business portion of the French leader’s second day in Washington.

    The pageantry of Macron’s official state visit, the first of the Trump presidency, comes Tuesday night with a lavish state dinner at the White House. About 150 guests are expected to dine on rack of lamb and nectarine tart and enjoy an after-dinner performance by the Washington National Opera.

    Monday night was more relaxed, featuring a helicopter tour of Washington landmarks and a trip to the Potomac River home of George Washington with their wives for dinner. The presidents and their spouses hopped on a helicopter bound for Mount Vernon, Washington’s historic riverside home, for a private dinner one night before the leaders sit down for talks on a weighty agenda including security, trade and the Iran nuclear deal.

    “This is a great honor and I think a very important state visit given the moment of our current environment,” Macron said Monday after his plane landed at a U.S. military base near Washington.

    Macron’s pomp-filled three-day state visit to Washington underscores the importance that both sides attach to the relationship: Macron, who calls Trump often, has emerged as something of a “Trump whisperer” at a time when the American president’s relationships with other European leaders are more strained. Trump, who attaches great importance to the optics of pageantry and ceremony, chose to honor Macron with the first state visit of his administration as he woos the French president.

    For all their camaraderie, Macron and Trump disagree on some fundamental issues, including the multinational nuclear deal, which is aimed at restricting Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. Trump, skeptical of the pact’s effectiveness, has been eager to pull out as a May 12 deadline nears. Macron says he is not satisfied with the situation in Iran and thinks the agreement is imperfect, but he has argued for the U.S. sticking with the deal on the grounds that there is not yet a “Plan B.”

    The Trumps and Macrons helped plant a tree on the White House grounds together before boarding Trump’s Marine One helicopter for a scenic tour of monuments built in the capital city designed by French-born Pierre L’Enfant as they flew south to Mount Vernon, the first U.S. president’s home along the Potomac River.

    The young oak is an environmentally friendly gift to the White House from Macron, and one that also bears historical significance. It sprouted at a World War I site in France, the Battle of Belleau Wood, that became part of U.S. Marine Corps lore.

    After Trump’s helicopter landed at Mount Vernon, the two presidents, each holding his wife’s hand, walked a short distance and posed for pictures before they boarded golf carts that ferried them to the front door of Washington’s plantation house. The couples were led on a brief outdoor tour before they entered the pale yellow building for dinner of Dover sole, pasta stuffed with lemon ricotta, and chocolate souffle and cherry vanilla ice cream.

    Trump declared the dinner “really fantastic” before returning to the White House.

    He ended his first year in office without receiving a foreign leader on a state visit, the first president in nearly 100 years to fail to do so. He was Macron’s guest last July at the annual Bastille Day military parade in the center of Paris. Macron and his wife also took Trump and America’s first lady on a tour of Napoleon’s tomb and whisked them up in the Eiffel Tower for dinner overlooking the City of Light.

    Macron will be welcomed back to the White House on Tuesday with a traditional arrival ceremony featuring nearly 500 members of the U.S. military and a booming 21-gun salute. The state visit also offers Macron his first Oval Office sit-down with Trump and a joint White House news conference. There’s also a State Department lunch hosted by Vice President Mike Pence.

    The French president’s White House day will be capped Tuesday night with a state dinner, the highest social tribute a president bestows on an ally and partner.

    Melania Trump played an active role in every detail of the visit, said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

    The first lady settled on a state dinner menu of rack of lamb and nectarine tart, along with after-dinner entertainment provided by the Washington National Opera for about 150 guests. On Monday, she released details of the glitzy affair being planned to dazzle Macron and his wife, Brigitte.

    Dinner will be served in the State Dining Room, which will feature more than 2,500 stems of white sweet pea flowers and nearly 1,000 stems of white lilac. Separately, more than 1,200 branches of cherry blossoms will adorn the majestic Cross Hall.

    The first lady opted for a cream-and-gold color scheme, and will use a mix of china services from the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

    State dinner tickets are highly sought after by Washington’s political and business elite. A few of those expected to attend: Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund and a former top French government official; House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton; Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mike Pompeo, Trump’s choice to be the next secretary of state.

    In a break with tradition, Trump has invited no congressional Democrats or journalists, said a White House official who was not authorized to discuss the arrangements publicly. But some Democrats did make the cut, including Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, whose office confirmed his attendance.

    ___

    Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

  • The Latest: Macron, Trump plant tree together at White House

    The Latest on the state visit by President Emmanuel Macron of France (all times local):

    WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the state visit by President Emmanuel Macron of France (all times local):

    6 p.m.

    President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron have ceremonially planted a tree together on the South Lawn of the White House as they kick off the first state visit of the Trump presidency.

    Holding brass shovels, the two leaders threw dirt onto the newly installed tree, a European Sessile Oak from Belleau Woods, where thousands of U.S. Marines died in a 1918 battle during World War I.

    Trump told reporters on Monday that France is “a very special country,” adding, “I love the tree.”

    Trump, Macron and their wives are taking Marine One from the White House to George Washington’s Mount Vernon for a private dinner Monday ahead of a formal day of business events Tuesday.

    ___

    5:35 p.m.

    French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived at the White House at the start of his meetings with President Donald Trump.

    Macron and his wife, Brigitte, were embraced by the president and first lady Melania Trump when their car pulled into the West Wing driveway Monday. The handshakes and pleasantries kicked off Macron’s state visit to Washington with Trump.

    The Macrons took an unscheduled walk along Pennsylvania Avenue earlier in the day.

    The two planned to present the Trumps with a tree on the South Lawn of the White House and then were flying aboard Marine One for dinner at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s historic riverside home.

    ___

    2:40 p.m.

    French President Emmanuel Macron is taking a stroll around the White House before he is set to kick off his state visit to Washington with President Donald Trump Monday evening.

    Macron says in a Monday afternoon tweet: “Before our first work meetings, let’s have a walk on Washington’s streets.”

    Moments earlier, Secret Service officers and agents rushed to keep up with his entourage as Macron departed Blair House for an unscheduled walk, greeting well-wishers along Pennsylvania Avenue. Macron is joined by his wife, Brigitte Macron, on the walk.

    The Macrons are being received by Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House later Monday, before flying aboard Marine One for dinner at Mount Vernon. Following business meetings Tuesday morning, Macron will be the guest of honor at the Trump’s first State Dinner Tuesday evening at the White House.

    ___

    1:55 p.m.

    President Emmanuel Macron of France has arrived on a state visit to the United States. It’s the first such visit of President Donald Trump’s administration.

    Macron said after his plane landed Monday at a U.S. military base near Washington that he and Trump will discuss issues important to their countries.

    Macron calls the visit a “great honor.” It’s his first trip to Washington since his election last year.

    Trump and first lady Melania Trump are taking Macron and his wife, Brigitte, to dinner Monday at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home along the Potomac River.

    On Tuesday at the White House, Macron will be treated to a military arrival ceremony, Oval Office time with Trump, a joint news conference and a glitzy state dinner with nearly 150 guests.

    ___

    12:05 p.m.

    Melania Trump is serving rack of lamb and nectarine tart at Tuesday’s White House state dinner for President Emmanuel Macron of France.

    It’s the first state dinner of President Donald Trump’s administration.

    The first lady also chose the Washington National Opera to entertain the approximately 150 guests after dinner.

    Mrs. Trump’s office on Monday released details of the affair being planned to dazzle Macron and his wife, Brigitte. House Speaker Paul Ryan, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards are among those who have said they are attending.

    The first lady has saved a few choice details for the last minute. They include the full guest list and what she’s wearing.

  • Trump firmly against Iran nuke deal, ready for French President Macron’s pro-deal pitch

    President Trump isn’t backing off his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, the White House said Monday of the international agreement that is expected to be a top issue during the state visit by Frenc

    President Trump isn’t backing off his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, the White House said Monday of the international agreement that is expected to be a top issue during the state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron.

    Mr. Trump has threatened to pull out of the Obama-era deal. Mr. Macron and others, including Iranian officials, have urged him to reconsider.

    “The president has been extremely clear that he thinks it is a bad deal. That certainly hasn’t changed,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

    Mr. Trump can nix the deal May 12, when he has the choice whether to extend sanctions relief under the deal or reimpose sanctions on Iran.

    Still, Ms. Sanders said the president always welcomed discussions about making deals that he thinks would benefit the American people.

    “I’m confident we have a great negotiator at the table,” she said, adding that her statement did not discount Mr. Macron’s negotiating skills.

    The president is hosting Mr. Macron in the first state visit of the Trump administration, with three days of events that begin Monday and include a state dinner Tuesday.