French president meets Carney in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, pledging support for deeper bilateral ties in energy, space and fisheries; shrugs off Trump's flag-map claim over the islands

French President Emmanuel Macron waits in front of the Elysee Palace for Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ahead of a summit on Aug. 25 (local time). [AFP]
French President Emmanuel Macron waits in front of the Elysee Palace for Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ahead of a summit on Aug. 25 (local time). [AFP]

French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to a French overseas territory just 19 kilometers from Canada to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney, publicly throwing his weight behind closer ties between Europe and Canada as US President Donald Trump warned Ottawa against drawing nearer to the EU.

Macron held a press conference after the meeting Sunday (local time) in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory in the northwestern Atlantic, according to AFP. "I believe our two countries are great, independent nations and will remain so," he said.

He doubled down on his support for deepening the relationship, saying he "strongly backs" what Carney has called an "alliance for the future."

Macron said Canada's liquefied natural gas projects are particularly important to Europe. The two countries also agreed to expand cooperation beyond energy into fisheries, space and climate.

Carney, for his part, again stressed the importance of solidarity among middle powers amid intensifying rivalry between the United States and China.

"Our societies are being shaken by new storms," he said. "The upheaval caused by climate change, the erosion of democratic norms, new threats to our sovereignty."

The choice of venue was itself symbolic. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is a French overseas territory made up of eight islands near Newfoundland off Canada's eastern coast — only 19 kilometers from Canada, yet 3,819 kilometers from the nearest point of metropolitan France.

The territory has recently drawn unexpected attention because of a map Trump made public.

Earlier this month, Trump posted a map on social media showing the Stars and Stripes over countries and islands near the North Atlantic — with Saint-Pierre and Miquelon depicted as US territory.

Macron shrugged off the claim. "It is obvious that this is French territory," he said. "When people have strange ideas or say strange things, we don't need to confirm it every morning."

Macron stopped in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon on his way to the UN General Assembly in New York. The visit was the first by a French president since François Hollande came in 2014, 12 years ago.

The trip came as Canada and the EU have been moving quickly to strengthen their relationship. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently proposed that Canada join the EU as an associate member.

Trump moved swiftly to push back. He warned that if Canada pursued associate membership and he deemed it a hostile act, he would impose very high tariffs or halt trade with Europe on multiple items.

However, the associate-member concept — which has no basis in existing EU rules — has also prompted unease within the bloc itself. Carney, too, avoided the term in his address to the European Parliament on Thursday, opting instead for "alliance for the future."


sjy@heraldcorp.com