The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will be awarded the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic during his State visit to Spain, at the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. As part of this official trip, the Gallic leader will hold meetings with the King and with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.
According to the Official State Bulletin (BOE), the granting of this high distinction has been approved after the deliberation of the Council of Ministers in its meeting on September 22.
The Executive has also agreed to grant the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic to Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron, wife of the head of the French State, as well as to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.
Likewise, the BOE includes the Government's decision to grant the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit to the Minister of the Interior of France, Laurent Nuñez; to the Minister of Culture, Catherine Pégard, and to the Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot.
Emmanuel Macron will carry out a State visit on September 29 and 30, with which he intends to showcase the momentum that the bilateral relationship has gained during his two terms, the highest exponent of which is the Treaty of Friendship, which is expected to be definitively ratified soon, according to sources from the Élysée.
This is the first State visit by a French president since that of Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009 and comes a few months before Macron concludes his second and final term. The objective is to emphasize the strength of ties in numerous areas and the intense convergence existing between both countries on the European level.
The official agenda includes, as is customary in this type of travel, a reception with all honors by the Kings at the Royal Palace for Macron and the First Lady, Brigitte, in addition to a gala dinner. Bilateral meetings of the French president with Felipe VI and with Pedro Sánchez have also been scheduled.
Treaty of Friendship pending ratification
The visit will not coincide, however, with the entry into force of the new Treaty of Friendship. The agreement, signed by Sánchez and Macron at the bilateral summit in January 2023 in Barcelona, is still awaiting the approval of the Senate, where the PP has a majority, after the Constitutional Court determined this week that the text complies with the Constitution.
The ratification by Spain —France completed its own procedure a long time ago— has been delayed due to the constitutional doubts that the PP raised about the article that allows a French minister to participate periodically in the Spanish Council of Ministers, and vice versa.
In parallel, the crisis in Ceuta will also be on the table during the trip. From the Élysée, they remember that Macron rushed to express his support for Spain after the massive entry of immigrants at the end of July and that France was one of the countries that did not sign the letter from 22 leaders questioning Spanish immigration policy.
In addition to meetings with the King and with Sánchez, the program includes the signing of around fifteen joint declarations on issues such as energy, the fight against disinformation, or the fight against drug trafficking in the oceans, as well as the holding of an economic forum with participation from companies from both countries.
Social networks, youth, and space cooperation
In the final stretch of his mandate, the French president has particularly focused attention on the risks posed by both AI and social networks for young people, and the French government has promoted a law to prohibit access to social networks for those under 15 years old, still pending approval.
In this context, his agenda in Madrid includes a meeting with students at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) to address democracy in Europe in the digital age, in which the president will answer questions from the audience about the challenges posed by social networks and the responsibility of platforms and technology companies, according to the French Embassy.
Likewise, the French president plans to visit the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) with the aim of highlighting Franco-Spanish cooperation in this field and the relevance of space capabilities for the protection of European sovereignty.