Emmanuel Macron is far from agrarian rage during his state visit to Sweden

After India and its heat comes the Swedish cold. Originally scheduled for October last year and canceled after an attack on Swedish supporters in Belgium, French President Emmanuel Macron is making a state visit to Sweden this Tuesday and tomorrow Wednesday. the field is open to the Prime Minister and his general political declaration.

This is “a particularly sensitive moment for our Europe,” Emmanuel Macron confirmed to the French community gathered in Stockholm on Tuesday morning, assuring that “in two years, the resumption of war on our continent has changed the perception of risk and led to the path to NATO. A way, before joking about France’s sporting success against Sweden, to set the stage for this visit, which is largely about the future of European defense.

Before a state dinner to which he and his wife Bridget are invited by King Carl XVI Gustaf, Sweden’s leader for fifty years, the first French president to visit Sweden since Jacques Chirac in 2000 is due to address the young Swede this afternoon. officers of the Karlberg Military Academy and during a joint press conference with the head of the Swedish government, Ulf Kristersson. According to the Elysee Palace, the two should sign a new bilateral strategic partnership, and defense will be at the center of exchanges between the two countries.

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“Faced with new threats on European soil, France and Sweden will take concrete measures to strengthen their defense relationship, especially in the industrial sector, and become allies within NATO as soon as possible,” stress Kristersson and Macron in the daily newspaper article. newspapers Les Échos and Dagens Nyheter.

Long militarily neutral, Sweden decided to join the Atlantic Alliance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago. She announced that she wants to reach the 2% of GDP target for defense spending “as soon as possible.” The country can count on a robust defense industry, and what France and Sweden have in common is that they have independently developed the Rafale fighter on the French side and the Gripen on the Swedish side.

On the eve of a crucial European Council meeting on future support for Ukraine, France and Sweden will sign a declaration of intent on air defense and air surveillance systems, while Saab and MBDA are expected to conclude a contract “in the coming days for the development of the Akeron anti-tank missile,” Paris said.

Another important theme of this visit is innovation, “solving the problems of the green and digital transition,” explains Emmanuel Macron’s circle. Before the French public, the head of state praised the Swedish model, which requires economic and social efforts. On Wednesday he will visit the European Spallation Source (ESS), a neutron research center funded by France jointly with twelve other European countries, in Lund, in the south of the country.