U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Paris on Monday evening for a visit overshadowed by tension, coming less than three weeks after an unprecedented crisis erupted between France and the United States over the Australian submarine deal. Blinken will meet with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and an advisor to President Emmanuel Macron. The U.S. Secretary will participate in a ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This visit marks the first by a senior U.S. official to France since the U.S. announced in mid-September the formation of a new alliance with Australia and the UK in the Indo-Pacific region to counter Chinese influence. The formation of this alliance angered French authorities as it led to Australia canceling a massive contract for traditional French submarines after the U.S. agreed to provide it with nuclear-powered submarines.
After France accused the U.S. of delivering a "stab in the back," U.S. President Joe Biden acknowledged in a phone call with his French counterpart that communication with Paris on this matter could have been better. The two presidents launched an "intensive consultation process" to restore "trust."
Blinken's visit to Paris is expected to fall within this "intensive consultation process" in preparation for a summit between the two presidents at the end of October, noting that he had met with his French counterpart in New York amid the crisis on September 23. The French side clarified that the goal could be to "identify steps" that would "restore trust," emphasizing that "emerging from the crisis will take time and will require actions."
Prior to Blinken's trip to Paris, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Karen Donfried stated, "Our discussions must yield tangible actions that demonstrate how we can work together to restore trust," without clarifying whether any announcements would result from the Paris meetings.
