Emmanuel Macron to meet Joe Biden on Friday in Rome for the first time since the Australian submarine crisis

The handshake between the two men will certainly not take place, barrier gestures require, but their reunion will still be scrutinized. US President Joe Biden will see his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Friday (October 29th) in Rome, ahead of the G20 summit, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced on Tuesday.

It is the first time that the two men will see each other since the crisis caused by the breach of the “contract of the century” of the French submarines with the Australians on September 15th. For now, the US adviser has not given further details on the meeting. Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron have already spoken on the phone twice since the crisis erupted. US Vice-President Kamala Harris will also be visiting Paris in November.

France is seeking in particular to obtain the blessing of the Americans for the creation of a real European defense, a project dear to the French, but which has still not really taken shape, 30 years after its launch.