The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, will undertake a state visit to Spain on Tuesday, September 29 and Wednesday, September 30, during which he will meet the kings of Spain and the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez. On this trip, which has been postponed for various reasons since the investiture of Felipe VI in 2018, the French head of state will be accompanied by his wife, Brigitte Macron.
The visit has been described as historic as it will be both the first and the last of the French president. It is a high-level institutional trip in the final stretch of Emmanuel Macron’s term before leaving the Élysée in 2027. In a matter of months presidential elections in France will be held, with the first round scheduled for April 18, 2027. This will be the first state visit by a French president to Spain in almost two decades, since Nicolas Sarkozy did so in 2009.
The presence of the Macrons in Spain will serve to highlight and strengthen the ties and bilateral relations between the two countries. The couple will be received with military honors at the Royal Palace of Madrid by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. Afterwards, Their Majesties will host them at the Palacio de la Zarzuela for a luncheon, followed by a meeting of the two heads of state. In the evening, at the Royal Palace of Madrid, the traditional gala dinner will take place.
The following day, Felipe VI and President Macron will preside over the Spain-France Forum for Trade and Investment. In the evening, the reception of return offered by the President of France and his wife to the Kings will take place at the residence of the French Embassy in Spain. Earlier, Emmanuel Macron will be received by Pedro Sánchez at the Moncloa Palace. What will not take place is the traditional speech of the French politician in the Senate, despite Spain’s offer.
Letizia, with tiara for the gala dinner
The visit of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron to Spain will be an event long awaited by royal enthusiasts: the gala dinner at the Royal Palace of Madrid, where we will surely see Queen Letizia wearing a tiara again. The last time was on November 26 of last year and was in honor of the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and his wife, Elke Büdenbender.
For Macron’s gala dinner, the Asturian may opt for several tiaras from the royal jewelry, each more spectacular than the last. Among them are the Floral Tiara, considered her favorite and the one she has worn most often for its lightness and comfort. There is also the Prussian Tiara, a platinum and diamond piece in a neoclassical style created by the German jeweler Koch that Letizia chose for her wedding. Or she could bring out the Mellerio Tiara, a historic jewel shaped like a shell that simulates the movement of the sea with diamonds and dangling pearls.
Decorations and the friendship treaty
The state visit of the Macrons will feature another highlight with the award to the French president of one of Spain’s most important civilian decorations, the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, proposed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation. In addition, the Spanish government has decided to award the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic to Brigitte Macron and to Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs.
On the table there remains, however, the parliamentary ratification of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the two countries. Sánchez and Macron signed it during the summit held in Barcelona in January 2023. But although our neighboring country completed its procedures a long time ago for it to enter into force, it here remains without ratification after the initial opposition of the PP and Vox to the article that provides for an exchange of ministers in the Cabinets of both countries.
