Macron, Carney Honour Free France Memorial, Push Deeper Canada-France Ties
Macron and Carney attended a wreath-laying ceremony in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and held talks on economic and security cooperation.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney paid tribute at the Free France memorial on the remote North Atlantic archipelago of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon on Sunday, laying wreaths before sitting down for talks aimed at deepening economic and security ties.
Macron greeted Carney at the territory's airport, and the two leaders were also seen meeting officials during the visit. Their discussions were expected to continue over a working lunch.
Speaking on arrival a day earlier, Macron described the visit as "an important moment" for the territory, home to roughly 5,800 people, and said the talks would help strengthen bilateral economic ties and the defence relationship.
According to Carney's office, the leaders were set to discuss expanding the Canada-France partnership in strategic sectors including aerospace, energy, critical minerals and advanced technologies such as quantum computing, satellites and supercomputing.
Macron also framed the meeting as part of wider efforts to help France secure oil and gas supplies, as the Iran war disrupts global energy markets and fuels fears of higher prices for fuel and other essentials.
The encounter follows Carney's recent embrace of the prospect of Canada becoming the European Union's first associate member, a step he said would ensure no country could control Canada's markets or undermine its sovereignty.
U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, demands for economic concessions and repeated suggestions that Canada become the 51st U.S. state have pushed Ottawa to reduce its reliance on its southern neighbour and pursue closer economic, security and political relationships with Europe.
Sunday's meeting also came after Trump announced a deal on Greenland that would expand the U.S. military presence there while leaving the island under Danish control — an agreement reached after months of threats by Trump to seize the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally. Macron welcomed that agreement on Saturday.