Macron, Carney hail new chapter in France-Canada ties at symbolic archipelago meeting

French President Emmanuel Macron said France and Canada were "two great independent nations who want to stay that way" in a joint news conference with Canadian leader Mark Carney Sunday.

Carney, visiting France's tiny North Atlantic territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon just off the Canadian coast, said the moment had come to tighten links with France and the European Union. 

The leaders' meeting, in the tiny overseas French territory off the coast of Canada's Newfoundland came as both countries have increasingly awkward relations with the US under President Donald Trump.

The meeting came days after Carney embraced the prospect of Canada becoming the European Union's first associate member, saying closer ties with the continent would ensure no country could control Canada's markets or undermine its sovereignty.

Trump's tariffs, demands for economic concessions and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have pushed Ottawa to reduce its dependence on its neighbour and pursue deeper economic, security and political relationships with Europe.

At a joint press conference in Saint Pierre and Miquelon on Sunday, Macron said the two countries would work together for closer ties on fishing, security and energy.

Earlier Sunday, Macron posted a video on X of him welcoming Carney at the airport.

"In a world in crisis, our friendship is a strength," said Macron. "Together, we affirm our sovereignty, our freedom to decide and our willingness to build a future of peace and prosperity," he added.

Macron also said that Sunday's talks are part of broader efforts to help France secure oil and gas supplies as the Iran war disrupts global energy markets and raises fears of higher prices for fuel and other essentials.

“Canada is a country with significant resources of critical minerals and rare earths. It is also a major oil and natural gas producer,” Macron said. “What we want to do is conclude agreements to secure more liquefied natural gas that can be shipped to Europe's Atlantic coast.”

The visit came weeks after Trump posted an image that showed the US flag draped over ​Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and was labelled "United States of America".

It included Saint Pierre and Miquelon and French Caribbean territories.

Sunday's meeting followed Trump's announcement of a deal on Greenland that would expand the US military presence there while keeping the island under Danish control. The agreement followed months of threats by Trump to seize the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally.

Macron welcomed the agreement Saturday.
“Danish sovereignty is being respected, international law is being respected,” he said. “Anything that helps ease tensions is a good thing.”

Visit of symbolic weight

Diplomats said the visit by Macron, who was en route to the annual UN General Assembly of world leaders, had a symbolic weight following Trump's social media post.

France did not respond publicly to the post at ​the time.

For France, Saint Pierre and Miquelon is strategically important due to its location on the doorstep ​of the US and the Arctic, a French presidency official told reporters in ​a briefing ahead of the visit.

The territory also occupies a key place in France's cooperation with Canada, including over energy, one of the issues in focus for ​the meeting on Sunday between Macron and Carney.

Macron, whose government is facing increased pressure at home over rising fuel prices, said he would like Canada to broaden its exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe rather than primarily Asia.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)