France’s Macron to outline EU vision as he arrives in Greece

ATHENS, Greece — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Greece Thursday for a two-day visit during which he was expected to outline his vision for the future of the European Union and discuss Greece’s financial crisis.

Security was tight for the visit, with Greek authorities banning protests through a large part of central Athens and mobilizing more than 2,000 police on the capital’s streets.

Macron, who arrived with a sizeable delegation of French business leaders, laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in central Athens before heading to a meeting with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Later in the afternoon, Macron is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras before delivering a speech Thursday evening at the Pnyx, a symbol of ancient Athenian democracy.

Greece considers France a vital ally and counterweight to fiscally hawkish Germany in its efforts to ease the stringent terms of its international bailouts. The country has relied on international rescue loans since 2010, and in return has seen its economy put under strict supervision by its creditors. Successive governments have had to enforce radical fiscal and structural reforms, including pension cuts and repeated tax hikes, in order to qualify for the loans.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos hailed the visit as a sign that Greece had finally turned the page and had emerged from its deep financial crisis.

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The future of the European Union will top the agenda of talks in Athens, Tzanakopoulos said, adding that Macron’s choice of starting “the discussion for the future of Europe” during a visit to Greece “shows that we are at the end of a difficult course.”

Talks during Macron’s visit will also focus on French investments in Greece, and the progress of Greece’s reforms and the rest of its bailout, which officially finishes in mid-2018.

Despite heavy policing for the visit, youths managed overnight to throw paint at the entrance of the French Institute in the city centre before escaping on motorcycles. The building has been repeatedly targeted by anarchist arsonists protesting French policies.

Last year, a French embassy police guard was slightly injured by a hand-grenade.

The Associated Press