Biden speaks with Macron, Harris to meet with French president in Paris

President Biden on Friday spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron to review their ongoing efforts by their teams to support stability and security in the Sahel, to enhance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, and efforts to enable a stronger and more capable European defense, the White House announced.

Biden will meet face-to-face with Macron in Rome next week at the Group of 20 Summit “where they will continue the conversation, take stock of the many areas of U.S.-France cooperation, and reinforce our shared interests and common values as we take on challenges and opportunities together.”

It was also announced that Vice President Harris will travel to Paris in November to meet with the French president. 

She will meet with Macron to discuss “the importance of the transatlantic relationship to global peace and security and underscore the importance of our partnership on global challenges from COVID-19 and the climate crisis to issues affecting the Sahel and the Indo-Pacific,” the vice president’s senior adviser and chief spokesperson Symone Sanders said in a statement. 

Harris will also deliver a speech at the fourth annual Paris Peace Forum on Nov. 11 and participate in the Paris Conference on Libya on Nov. 12. Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will join his wife on the trip.

To mark Veterans Day and Armistice Day in France on Nov. 11, Harris and Emhoff will visit the Suresnes American Cemetery.

The trip follows the dispute over a new partnership between the U.S. and Australia on nuclear-powered submarines.

Biden’s call with Macron marks the second since France reacted furiously over the U.S. partnership with U.K. and Australia, known as AUKUS, which aims to deliver nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. 

France had been seeking its own multibillion-dollar defense agreement with Australia for submarines and was caught flat-footed by the new deal. Macron recalled its ambassadors to the U.S. in protest but has since sent him back to the U.S.