Christofle Cup, "chabadabada" and 200 live lobsters: Macron and Biden compete for attention for their meeting

They compete for attention.

Arriving in the United States on Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron did not come empty-handed to the White House.

The Elysée has announced that the Head of State will offer this Thursday, to his American counterpart, a Christofle cup, a famous goldsmith and tableware house which, among other things, accompanied meals on board the prestigious liner. "Normandy".

A reference to the transatlantic link, but also to a prosperous period for French know-how: the first voyage to New York of the large ship had been, in 1935, an international event.

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The French president also carried in his suitcases a vinyl disc of the soundtrack of Claude Lelouch's film "A man and a woman" (1966).

The filmmaker himself is also part of the French delegation.

The song of the same name, with its heady chorus “Dabadabada” (often transcribed “Chabadabada”), composed by Francis Lai, was awarded a Golden Globe at the time.

American cheeses and cannon shots

If the White House has not yet revealed which presents will be presented by Joe Biden on Thursday, the wife of the American president, Jill Biden, has already revealed the decor and the menu of the gala dinner this Thursday evening.

It will be served under a large tent in the gardens, on tables laden with candlesticks and flowers in the colors of the two countries.

Will be served: lobster - 200 live crustaceans made their last trip to Washington - beef, squash from the White House vegetable garden, and an orange cake, among others.

But also - the First Lady particularly insisted on this point - American cheeses.

Including a blue from Oregon (northwest) which was the first American production to win the World Cheese Championships in 2019.

The toasts will be served with an American sparkling rosé wine, in glasses made in France.

And the evening will be hosted by Jon Batiste, a jazzman from Louisiana.

Emmanuel Macron will travel Friday to this former province ceded by France to the United States in 1803.

Before that, the French president - who spent his first American evening at the restaurant with his wife and the Biden couple - will be greeted by cannon shots and anthems from both countries upon his arrival at the White House.

He is the first to whom the American president has given such treatment since his inauguration in January 2021.