French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on Wednesday with civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis John LewisDemocrats urge Biden to resist filibuster, court-packing calls Rep. Bill Pascrell named chair of House oversight panel The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden goes on offense MORE (D-Ga.).

The French president visited the memorial following a speech to a joint session of Congress in which he warned against “fear and anger” dividing citizens.

"You can play with fear and anger for a time, but they do not construct anything. Anger only freezes and weakens us," Macron said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Lewis told French media during his visit with Macron that he believes the French president fights for the same values that King fought for during the civil rights movement.

John Lewis: "Macron se bat pour la même société que celle voulue par Martin Luther King" pic.twitter.com/trr3Uhg7UQ — BFMTV (@BFMTV) April 25, 2018

La rencontre n’était pas au programme officiel : @EmmanuelMacron au mémorial de Martin Luther King avec @repjohnlewis pic.twitter.com/cRdWOnnacZ — Gregory Philipps (@gregphil) April 25, 2018

Lewis was a key figure in the civil rights movement. He served as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and protested alongside King at the March on Washington and at other events. He also was among the activists on "Bloody Sunday" in 1965, when protesters marching from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery, Ala., were beaten by police.

More recently, Lewis has been a staunch and outspoken critic of President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE and his administration. He is one of the nearly 60 House Democrats who voted in December to proceed with impeachment proceedings.

Macron has been in Washington, D.C., since Monday for the first state visit of the Trump administration. He previously visited George Washington’s home in Mount Vernon with President Trump and first lady Melania Trump Melania TrumpMelania Trump: Ginsburg's 'spirit will live on in all she has inspired' The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - You might want to download TikTok now Warning label added to Trump tweet over potential mail-in voting disinformation MORE.

Macron and Trump have developed a strong bond, and the two have been friendly during the French leader’s visit, despite some disagreement on policy issues.

Macron has urged the U.S. to remain in the Iran nuclear deal, despite Trump calling it "a disaster" and hinting heavily that he'd withdraw from the agreement.

Trump has also moved to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement. Macron on Wednesday predicted the U.S. would return to the pact, which encourages member countries to set and achieve goals to aid the environment.