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The visit is good news for speakers of Louisiana French who want to preserve their . “We need, not just symbolic support, but practical support and funding,” says Will McGrew, founder of Télé Louisiane, the first entirely French-speaking media in the state.

McGrew will meet on Friday alongside a dozen other members of the community. Christine Verdin, a Pointe-au-Chien Indian descended from the first inhabitants of America who learned French from settlers in the 18th century, is among them.

As a child, French was the only language Verdin spoke and she still speaks French on a daily basis with her family and neighbours. She is touched that Macron is making the visit. “It’s a privilege that he’s coming here and taking the time not just to come to America but to come all the way to New Orleans to meet us,” she says. 

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