MACRON TOURS US AHEAD OF BIDEN TALKS

France’s President Emmanuel Macron underlines Us-french cooperation with a tour of Nasa headquarters on Wednesday, but his state visit will veer into tougher territory when he meets his counterpart Joe Biden for the main part of a rare state visit.

The French leader, who arrived late on Tuesday with his wife Brigitte, will join Vicepresident Kamala Harris at the US space agency facility in Washington. He’ll stay in the high-tech sphere later when he attends a meeting on civilian nuclear energy.

The busy schedule, which also includes a working lunch to discuss biodiversity and clean energy, and a visit to the historic Arlington National Cemetery, illustrates the ambitions set for the trip — the first formal state visit by a foreign leader to Washington since Biden took office nearly two years ago.