US VP Harris meets France’s Macron, agrees to ‘work together’

United States Vice President Kamala Harris and French President Emmanuel Macron met on Wednesday at the Elysee presidential palace and reportedly agreed on de-straining diplomatic relations between the countries after a two-month rough patch.

While building on the statements given by the French leader, Harris said, “I think we share this belief that we are at the beginning of a new era, which presents us with many challenges, but also many opportunities”, according to reports from Associated Press.

The United States Vice President added, “Building on the great conversation that you and President Biden had, I look forward to the next few days. We will work together and renew the focus that we have always had on a partnership.”

The discussion between the two leaders was supposed to touch base on climate change, space and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before meeting the French President, Harris visited the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial in Paris and paid her respects to Americans who died in the two world wars.  

Among the more than 1,500 graves was that of Inez Crittenden, a World War I switchboard operator from Harris’ hometown of Oakland. Noting that was “one of the few jobs women could have” at the time, Harris said, “We are very proud of her memory and her service”, according to reports from Associated Press.

Earlier this year, United States President Joe Biden said that his French counterpart had been “clumsy” with his response to a submarine deal between the AUKUS, which consists of the United Kingdom, Australia and America.

Even though Biden did not issue any formal apologies for his statement but admitted that France should not have been taken by surprise. 

Macron Wednesday said he had had “a very fruitful meeting” with Biden. “We do share the view that we are at the beginning of a new era and our cooperation is absolutely critical for this one,” he said.