Before the G20, Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron continue to mend their relationship

Published on : 10/22/2021 – 9:29 PM

US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron spoke on Friday October 22 by telephone, continuing their efforts to resolve their differences after the Australian submarine crisis, the White House confirming the arrival of the vice-president Kamala Harris in Paris.

The two leaders “discussed the necessary efforts to strengthen defense Europe while ensuring complementarity with NATO,” said a statement from the US executive. A subject that is particularly close to the hearts of the French.

Other subjects raised include the situation in the Sahel and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

This call precedes a meeting between Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron which should take place at the G20 in Rome at the end of October, and will be followed by the visit to Paris of US Vice President Kamala Harris, confirmed by the White House.

“In-depth consultation process”

The Vice President of the United States will travel to Paris on November 11 and 12, where she will be received by the French President.

Kamala Harris and Emmanuel Macron “will discuss the importance of the transatlantic relationship for world peace and security and they will stress the importance of our partnership for planetary challenges like Covid-19 and the climate crisis, by the way by the questions of the Sahel and the Indo-Pacific “, specified the White House.

The call between the two leaders and the visit of Kamala Harris are part of a warming phase 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 called “Aukus” aroused rare anger from France because it torpedoed a mega-contract for French submarines signed with the Australians.

A phone call between Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron, a week later, had triggered 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 “process of in-depth consultations” to restore a hard-tested trust between Paris and Washington.

The Australian submarine crisis is indeed the most serious diplomatic crisis between these two historic allies since the French “no” to the Iraq war in 2003.

With AFP