It is therefore this Wednesday, January 20 that everything begins for Democrat Joe Biden, precisely where the end of Donald Trump's reign on January 6 tragically ended: on the steps of the Capitol in Washington.
A symbol, because it is here that the 46th President of the United States will take the oath, at noon sharp, as tradition
dictates
: "
I solemnly swear that I will faithfully carry out the office of President of the United States and that the best of my abilities, I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, ”
he said, right hand raised and his left resting on a Bible.
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Joe Biden at the head of the United States: what can change, or not, for France
These words will weigh heavily after four years of Trump's presidency.
The first challenge of this man, almost in his eighties, who will enter the White House on foot in the afternoon, will be to turn this chaotic page and pick up the pieces of a torn America.
Like a message of reconciliation sent to the Nation, he will begin his inauguration day with a mass - he is a fervent Catholic - to which he has invited the Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress.
"Very simple, basically quite different from Obama"
With the rest of the world too, he will be keen to show the face - even masked - of a more open and united America.
In any case, better disposed towards its European partners.
Question of form, first of all.
In France, those who have approached Joe Biden have nothing but praise for.
“He is a charming, courteous, civilized man, respectful of his interlocutors.
That will change us from Donald Trump ”, immediately greets former President François Hollande, who had met him several times when the latter was“ VP ”of Barack Obama.
“He was a very useful vice-president: faithful, loyal, always in solidarity with what his president did or said.
We could pass the messages on to him, it was a good relay for us.
"
VIDEO. Joe Biden inauguration: thousands of American flags to replace the crowd
A president from whom he stands out in his eyes by an aspect that does not displease him: "He is very simple, basically quite different from Barack Obama, very seductive, of course, but rather cold, very intellectual.
Joe Biden, he reasons with sensitivity, he comes into connivance and likes to joke.
He had also - nicely - paid the price in September 2016, when the vice-president had to furnish more than 40 minutes in the gallery of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, while waiting for his French guest stuck in traffic.
“Ah, the President of France is here… the timing is perfect!
“, Had launched Joe Biden, tongue-in-cheek, seeing tumble the head of state known for his delays.
“It's quite pleasant: we find ourselves smiling, then we discuss seriously.
It may be superficial, but in diplomacy, it is important ”, appreciates François Hollande.
For the American people too, wants to believe a former high-ranking diplomat, who rubbed shoulders with Joe Biden a lot in Washington.
“He is really nice and warm, very endearing.
The absolute opposite of Obama.
Considering the period that the United States is going through, his ability to convey messages of empathy will be a major asset.
"
"He shares our common values"
The "Biden style" will therefore count a lot in the eyes of the French and Europeans more broadly.
“Trump wanted to be the gorilla in the jungle.
With Biden, disputes will not fail, but he intends to repair the transatlantic relations damaged by his predecessor, ”continues the same diplomat, who remembers that even during the quarrel between the two countries after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, “He had never howled with wolves.
He knows La Fayette and Rochambeau like the back of his hand, the 1944 landings, our entire history… ”
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United States: Does Joe "Robinette" Biden have French origins?
Francophile, Biden?
“We should not exaggerate, corrects Gérard Araud, former French Ambassador to the United Nations and then to Washington.
He has no particular attachment to France, but his team does.
In particular Tony Blinken, his secretary of state, who spent his childhood in Paris, until the bac.
Or John Kerry, his special envoy on the climate, part of his family is French.
"
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"He was very aware of European affairs, more sensitive than Obama to these questions," recalls Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2010, who also appreciated his "constant concern for human rights".
"He knows Europe well, he shares our common values", adds François Hollande.
"With Macron, they are poles apart"
Anyway, everyone agrees that for France and Europe, his election is good news, "even if we must keep in mind that he will pursue specifically American interests, put into perspective the former socialist president.
But I believe he will not exercise his leadership in an overwhelming way, as Donald Trump or George Bush did.
Joe Biden does not need to be proud of himself.
"
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Trade tensions: will Biden go back on Trump's tariffs?
After the hot-cold Trump-Macron relations, what will happen to the new boss of the United States? “Between a very young French president, who came to power like a meteorite, very intellectual, and a much older American, more attached to common sense than to concepts, they are poles apart, analyzes Gérard Araud. Their interest is that it matches. "
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