JEAN GASPARD NTOUTOUME AYI IS WRONG ABOUT THE PROTOCOL OF STATE VISITS TO FRANCE! JEAN GASPARD NTOUTOUME AYI SE TROMPE AU SUJET DU PROTOCOLE DES VISITES D’ETAT EN FRANCE!
English version When a foreign head of state comes to France for a State Visit, the highest and most prestigious level of diplomatic visit, the President of the French Republic generally does not go to the airport to greet them, preferring instead to wait for them on the steps of the Élysée. But depending on the circumstances and the prestige of the visitor and their country of origin, the French Head of State will indeed go to greet them at the airport. There is a difference in protocol level, in that the airport welcome is a courtesy of arrival, whereas the welcome on the steps of the Élysée constitutes the true symbolic highlight of the State Visit, filmed and covered by the media. For example, Mikhail Gorbachev (July 1989) was greeted by Mitterrand at the foot of the plane. All Popes, such as Benedict XVI (September 12, 2008), or John Paul II, whom Jacques Chirac personally greeted at the airport on three occasions, who combine the roles of Head of State and Religious Leader, ...
