Emmanuel Macron wants to put France back at the heart of the international scene

The president intends to take advantage of the commemorations to move forward on ongoing diplomatic issues such as the war in Ukraine and the visit of American President Joe Biden.

Some present the event as the “big leagues”. 80 years later, on the same beach of “bloody” Omaha, the Allies met on Thursday June 6 – without Russia – in Normandy, but alongside the Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky, to celebrate the victory over Nazism while war rages again in Europe. American Presidents Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are expected, among around twenty heads of state and government.

They will set foot on the most emblematic beach of the Landings, near Bayeux (Calvados), where the first American soldiers landed at dawn on June 6, 1944, and where the Allies lost the most men to the deluge of German fire. And the commemorations will follow one another for several days for the French president. With one idea in mind: beyond the commemorations, and three days before the European elections, Emmanuel Macron wants to make these commemorations “his” international moment.

Normandy thus became the diplomatic capital during these commemorations, thanks to Emmanuel Macron. And this is the image that the president wants to convey, after the formal framework of the ceremony, the warships of the allied nations off Omaha Beach and the military air parade, room for negotiations and the hope of progress on the various diplomatic files in progress.

Ten years ago, François Hollande achieved this, allowing a meeting between Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart on the beaches of Normandy, a few weeks after the annexation of Crimea. No similar feat this year because Russia is not invited. On the other hand, as of tomorrow at the Elysée, the signing of agreements with Volodymyr Zelensky is planned. A way for the Head of State to put aid to Ukraine back on the agenda.

Ukraine will also be a subject to discuss with American President Joe Biden, as will climate and nuclear power. This is the longest state visit of his mandate, the Elysée boasts. The idea is to show France at the heart of the international scene, as a message to voters, before the European elections. Around half of those registered have, for the moment, no intention of going to the polls.