This is one more step towards normalizing their relations since the Australian submarine crisis. United States President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone on Friday, October 22, continuing their efforts to resolve their differences. The White House has confirmed Vice President Kamala Harris’ upcoming trip to Paris.
The two leaders “Discussed the efforts needed to strengthen Defense Europe while ensuring complementarity with NATO”, an important subject for France, underlines a press release from the American executive.
Emmanuel Macron has, in fact, made the construction of a real European defense a priority for the last six months of his mandate while this project is struggling to grow, almost thirty years after its launch by the Maastricht Treaty, signed in 1992. .
Among the other subjects raised by the two leaders are the situation in the Sahel and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the White House.
The French authorities wish “A strengthening of American support for anti-terrorist operations conducted by European states in the Sahel”, explained, in early October, a French diplomatic source to Agence France-Presse, on the occasion of the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Paris.
Meeting between the two presidents scheduled for October
Friday’s call precedes a meeting between Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron which is expected to take place at the G20 in Rome at the end of October and will be followed by the visit to Paris of Kamala Harris, confirmed by the White House and the Elysium. In a tweet, the US president said he had “Appreciated” the conversation with Emmanuel Macron and “Rejoiced[r] » to meet him in the capital of Italy in order to “Take stock of the many areas of cooperation” between the two countries.
I enjoyed speaking with President Macron of France today. I look forward to meeting with him in Rome later this mon… https://t.co/UktzdC8eBo
The Vice-President of the United States, for her part, will visit France on November 11 and 12, on the occasion of the Paris Peace Forum and the international conference on Libya. She will be received by Emmanuel Macron.
Mme Harris et M. Macron “Will discuss the importance of the transatlantic relationship for peace and security in the world and they will stress the importance [du] partnership [entre les deux pays] for planetary challenges such as Covid-19 and the climate crisis ”, said the White House.
The call between the two leaders and the visit of Kamala Harris are part of a phase of warming between Paris and Washington after the crisis caused by the announcement, in mid-September, of a new alliance between the United States , Australia and the United Kingdom.
This partnership, dubbed “Aukus”, aroused rare anger from France because it torpedoed an important contract for French submarines signed with Australia.
A first phone call between Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron, a week later, had made it possible to initiate a relaxation. The tenant of the White House had then publicly made amends on the method. And the two heads of state had launched a “In-depth consultation process” to restore a hard-tested trust between Paris and Washington.
The Australian submarine crisis is, in fact, the most serious diplomatic crisis between these two historic allies since France’s refusal to take part in the Iraq war in 2003.
The case has, moreover, opened a debate in France, but also in other countries of the European Union, on the need to work for greater European sovereignty in the field of defense in order to free itself from the umbrella. American.
Also listen Understanding everything about the Australian submarine crisis