Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron on a state visit to Madrid

The Macron couple, who arrived an hour late in a Rolls-Royce, were escorted by the royal guard on horseback in full uniform into the immense courtyard of the Royal Palace. The welcoming ceremony took place in the Patio de Armas with military honors: the French and Spanish anthems were played, accompanied by 21 cannon salutes.

Felipe VI and Macron reviewed the battalion of honor of the Royal Guard. Among the authorities present, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, greeted affectionately by the French President, the presidents of Congress and Senate, Francina Armegol and Pedro Rollan, the president of the Constitutional Court, Candido Conde-Pumpido, and the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso.

At the end of the ceremony, Felipe VI and the French president watched the parade of the company of honor. Macron and Brigitte then left for the Zarluela Palace, residence of the Spanish monarchs, where they attended a lunch, followed by a conversation between the two heads of state. The day ended with a gala dinner at the Royal Palace.

The visit takes place at a time of intense economic, political, cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries. In the afternoon, the Spanish Senate voted on the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, after the unanimous green light from the Constitutional Court.

During the Macron presidency, France's dual nationality agreement with Spain, Paris' first trading partner, was also signed in 2021. Over 330 thousand Spaniards live in France and around 125 thousand French people in Spain.

Macron's is a two-day state visit to Spain, aimed in particular at underlining the great "convergences" between the two countries on European matters. This is the first state visit by a French president since that of Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009.

Today Macron and King Felipe VI opened a Franco-Spanish economic forum, in the presence of numerous entrepreneurs. The meeting with Pedro Sánchez is then scheduled at the Moncloa Palace in the middle of the day, before a joint press conference.