November 11th is a day of remembrance in France, a holiday for the fallen soldiers and a reminder of the end of the First World War. This year, November 11th was also a small day of triumph. American Vice President Kamala Harris was one of the guests who gathered at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Harris has been in town since Tuesday, her first trip to Europe. Your visit to France is not just about getting to know each other, it is about finally settling the dispute between the two countries.
How important this stay in Paris is to the USA is shown by the fact that Harris stays for four nights. France, which was pushed aside and missed out on the submarine deal, has become the courted France again.
For President Emmanuel Macron, this also means that his strategy of very public anger has paid off. After the USA, together with Great Britain and Australia, founded the new security alliance Aukus for the Pacific region in September, France found itself snubbed and isolated on the world stage. And also lost a billion-dollar armaments contract for submarines. France spoke of treason, of a “stab in the back”, and called back its ambassador from the USA.
While Washington at first seemed to believe that one could just sit out French anger, the past few months have shown that Macron was able to skillfully turn his anger into political capital. Harris’ visit is the third step in an American regret that began with a trip to Paris by Francophile US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in early October and then continued at the G20 summit in Rome with a kind of apology from President Joe Biden. This smoothing of the waves has not only brought the two countries closer together again. It has forced the newly elected Biden government to grapple closely with French sensitivities and needs.
The visit had everything one could wish for in a gesture of reconciliation
Harris’ visit now had everything one could wish for in a gesture of reconciliation: personal, historically aware, and looking to the future. First, the US Vice President visited the laboratories of the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, did research on the fight against breast cancer at the Pasteur Institute in the 1980s. Harris told the attending researchers that “some of the most important scientific discoveries were made here through the collaboration of French and American scientists”.
On Wednesday Harris then visited the American cemetery in Suresnes, not far from Paris, where 1,500 American soldiers are lying who died in the First World War. On Thursday, she and Macron finally remembered the fallen soldiers at the Triumphal Arch. It was a moment that emphasized the centuries-old alliance between the two countries. Harris also took part in a state ceremony for the officer Hubert Germain, who had fought for France’s liberation during World War II. Germain died in October at the age of 101. Macron began his speech on Thursday with the question: “Would we be here today without Hubert Germain?”
These two pillars of the French self-image, the historical independence of the country, symbolized by the fighters of the Resistance, and the close alliance with the USA were at the center of the celebrations on November 11th. And at the same time also in the focus of politics. Because the French position does in fact lead to tension again and again. Just like his predecessors, Macron also emphasizes the importance of militarily strengthening Europe, “strategic autonomy” as he calls it. The EU needs a stronger common defense policy, Macron said. At the same time, this should not weaken NATO.
This second aspect of the French position is often overheard within the EU, or said particularly quietly by Paris. In the case of the Aukus scandal and the dispute with the USA, one can see the pitfalls of this independence rhetoric. The EU partners were slow to declare their solidarity with France. As if someone who speaks of autonomy has to reckon with headwinds.
At the same time, since the beginning of his tenure in 2017, Macron has shown how important a close partnership with the USA is to him. Few heads of state courted the then American President Donald Trump as aggressively as Macron. However, this chum did not bring any political results.