Macron and Biden meet in Rome following tense period between US, France
US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a bilateral meeting in Rome on Friday for the first time since the Australian submarine crisis that angered Paris, with the aim of restoring relations between the two countries.
On the eve of the G20 summit, the French and American presidents will meet at 16:15 (14:15 GMT) in the Villa Bonaparte, the French embassy, near the Vatican.
"Therefore, it is President Macron who will receive President Biden, and this has an important political character," the Elysee said.
For Paris, it is an additional signal that the US administration is sending to reform the relationship with France, after it has acknowledged some responsibility in this dispute.
Washington was surprised by France's angry reaction after the announcement in mid-September of a new alliance called "Okos" between the United States, Australia and Britain in the Indo-Pacific region.
In addition to not being consulted, Paris was deeply disappointed with the first outcome of this partnership: Australia's abandonment of a massive contract to buy French submarines.
Macron waited a week before speaking by phone with Joe Biden on September 22, in a call that allowed the start of the calm. Then the two presidents launched a "process of in-depth consultations" to restore the much damaged trust between the two allies.
The Rome meeting comes at an appropriate time "to prove that we have been able to negotiate together important elements of cooperation that will allow us to establish a framework for the French-American relationship in the future," said an adviser to the French president.
According to expert Pierre Morcus of the Center for International Strategic Studies in Washington, "Okos will leave scars" but "the two countries seem willing to move forward and turn this diplomatic crisis into an opportunity to strengthen the bilateral partnership and rebalance the transatlantic relationship."
- 'Virtue' -
For Paris, what is important beyond promises is to get concrete commitments from Washington.
France, in particular, is seeking to obtain the approval of the Americans to establish an actual European defense, a project that the French strongly want, but it is facing difficulties to take shape 30 years after its launch.
"The main thing is to get everyone to agree that there is no contradiction between European defense and NATO," the Elysee Palace added. "It is a virtue to be able to distribute the roles in such a way that the Europeans are collectively more capable, more committed and more powerful, and that the Americans on their side will always be their reliable allies," he added.
For Paris, it is time for all European countries to assess the strategic axis that the United States is managing toward the Indo-Pacific and China at the expense of other regions, including Europe and the Middle East.
But the principle of "European sovereignty," dear to Emmanuel Macron's heart is causing distrust in many European Union countries as well as in the United States, as the defense industry seeks to maintain market shares on the continent.
Another desire of Emmanuel Macron is to get Joe Biden to bolster his support in the fight against militant groups in the Sahel.
"The US support is very important because it allows us to work in better conditions," said one of the president's advisers.
So far, the United States has not publicly explained in detail how it intends to "strengthen its support for counterterrorism operations," according to the joint statement released September 22 after Macron and Biden's call.
