An extended trip through Germany, including a boat tour with the chancellor, a banquet at Bellevue Palace and a speech at Dresden's Frauenkirche: French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, will be in Germany from Sunday evening until next Wednesday. Their tight program includes stops in three German states, as the Office of the Federal President announced on Tuesday evening.
It is the first state visit of a French president in Germany for 23 years. In the 60th year of the Élysée Treaty, the close friendship between the two countries is honored. Hosts and companions for the Macrons are German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender.
The trip begins on Sunday with the arrival in Stuttgart. On Monday, the official visit program starts with a welcome with military honors in the garden of Ludwigsburg Castle. Present will be a delegation of the Franco-German Brigade and Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens). Steinmeier and Macron will then take part in a discussion on artificial intelligence, while Elke Büdenbender and Brigitte Macron will visit the Goethe High School in Ludwigsburg.
After continuing their journey to Berlin, Steinmeier and Macron will hold a press conference in Bellevue Palace. This will be followed by a boat trip with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on the Spree River and a walk through the Brandenburg Gate with Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU).
Later on Monday, Macron and Steinmeier will visit the Future Camp of the Franco-German Youth Office at the Malzfabrik in Berlin-Schöneberg, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Steinmeier and Büdenbender give in the evening a state banquet in honor of the Macrons.
On Tuesday, both couples travel together by train to Dresden. After a visit near Moritzburg Castle and a meeting with Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), Steinmeier and Macron will visit the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS) in Dresden. Macron will give a speech on Neumarkt square in front of the Frauenkirche church.
Emmanuel Macron, born Dec. 21, 1977, has been the president of the French Republic since May 2017. He has a long career in politics and public service, which took him from serving as an inspector in the French government to economy minister under President François Hollande. Macron, who founded the social liberal movement "En Marche!" in 2016, is the youngest president in France's history. His presidency has been marked by reform efforts in the areas of labor, education and health. He is married to Brigitte Macron, who is considered his closest adviser.
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