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LETTER TO US PRESIDENT ALSO CALLED ON FRENCH-US RELATIONS TO RETAIN ‘SPIRIT OF PARTNERSHIP’ French President Emmanuel Macron praised the ‘courage’ of his counterpart Joe Biden, after the

latter announced on Sunday (July 21) that he is retiring from his bid for a second-term as head of state of the United States. Mr Macron made the comments in a letter to the president, parts

of which were made public on Monday. He also made public his wishes for the ‘spirit of partnership’ between France and the US to continue, regardless of the next president. “I appreciate

the courage, the spirit of responsibility and the sense of duty that led you to this decision,” the letter said. “At a time when we have just commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day

together, I hope that this partnership between the two sides of the Atlantic will continue to drive the historic relations between our two countries,” it adds. It follows a slew of public

announcements by other world leaders across social media platforms praising the current US president for his decision, including from Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Spanish

prime minister Pedro Sánchez.  Joe Biden (81) announced over the weekend that he would be pulling out as the Democratic Party’s candidate for the US presidential election this November,

after criticism surrounding his mental faculties began to mount.  Current vice president Kamala Harris is expected to be officially selected as the Democratic nominee for the election, and

will go up against former president Donald Trump, officially announced as the Republican candidate. US PRESIDENT RECENTLY CAME FOR D-DAY VISIT  One of Mr Biden’s final foreign trips as

president of the US was to France, to mark the 80th commemorations of D-Day and the beginning of the liberation of France from Nazi occupation.  He went to the American cemetery in

Colleville-sur-Mer, as well as to the Bois Belleau, commemorating the deaths of US soldiers in both world wars.  It was his first state visit since his inauguration, and will most likely

remain his only official state visit to the country during his time in office.  Read more: Key quotes from King Charles, Macron and Biden at D-Day commemorations