Kamala Harris' trip to Paris signals a relationship back on track

As they clasped arms, the chummy chemistry that had begun to emerge between the pair was on show for all to see -- an outward signal of the most recent US try to mend its relationship with France following a submarine affair that provoked a diplomatic rift between the 2 outdated allies.

The trip additionally served as a possibility for Harris to emerge onto the European diplomatic stage for the primary time as vp, efficiently taking part in an vital overseas coverage position for the Biden administration after stumbling throughout her first overseas trip to Mexico and Guatemala in June.

"I will tell you that it was a very productive and a good trip," Harris stated to reporters on Saturday, "and we have a lot of follow-up stuff. ... Our work will continue, and we do it with a sense of optimism but a sense of strong conviction that the partnership between the United States and France remains and will continue to be very strong."Unlike in June -- which noticed Harris' stumbles in an interview overshadow an in any other case profitable trip -- Harris managed to keep away from controversy and keep away from diplomatic and political minefields. She left France on Saturday and is ready to arrive in Washington later within the day."I will tell you that was not the purpose of this trip, and we didn't discuss it," Harris stated Friday, when talking to reporters in Paris. The vp has been requested if she believed she had achieved the job to restore the relationship, after the scuttled deal."What we did discuss is the issues that are challenging us and the issues that are the basis for this relationship and the strength and the endurance of this relationship," she added.

After largely burying the hatchet with Biden forward of the G20 in Rome final month, Macron appeared largely content material to revel within the gesture of the vp's presence in Paris and the gesture of a prolonged trip as the following step within the course of. "I want to thank you for your presence. You're more than welcome not just in this palace with myself and my ministers, but I can tell you that French people are extremely proud to have you here today," Macron stated as he opened a assembly with Harris on the Elysée, including in French that he was "extremely grateful" for her go to.Harris' go to to the Elysée gave her and Macron a possibility to spend time one-on-one, with out aides current, earlier than sitting down for a bilateral assembly that went over time, prompting French protocol officers to enter the room thrice in an effort to wrap up the assembly. Harris and Macron laughed about these makes an attempt the following morning as they met for the Armistice Day Ceremony. Beyond their time collectively, Harris' solo visits have been additionally highly effective diplomatic messaging moments. Harris' multi-hour attendance and remarks on the Paris Peace Forum helped lend credibility to a Macron initiative. Her go to to the French biomedical analysis Pasteur Institute highlighted longstanding French-American cooperation on scientific analysis -- in addition to Harris' personal private connection to that cooperation within the type of her mom's analysis on the institute within the 80s. And a ultimate go to to one of many websites of the 2015 terrorist assaults in Paris on the sixth anniversary underscored shared values and a dedication to combating terrorism. But it was Harris' go to to the Suresnes American Cemetery, the place Americans who fought and died in France throughout World Wars I and II are buried, that served as maybe essentially the most highly effective reminder of the shared sacrifice between the 2 international locations and a deeply rooted bond."If there is any question about the why or the what, in terms of our relationship as the United States with France, that is one visual and one concrete example of the endurance and the mutual commitment and interdependence between the United States and France," Harris stated on Friday, reflecting on her go to to the cemetery.