Harris’ trip to Paris comes on the heels of Biden’s meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G-20 conference in Rome, during which Biden acknowledged “clumsy” handling of the submarine affair. But while French officials have been heartened by the US rhetoric in recent weeks — including on Macron’s priority of bolstering European defenses — French officials say they are still looking for concrete US actions to make amends.
“We’re past the freefall phase and we’re in the phase where we both have agreed to rebuild, but we’re not quite clear yet what that looks like,” said Barry Pavel, director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security who served as a senior director for defense policy at the National Security Council. “The President has already done step one … but this is step two.”
Nearly every aspect of Harris’ visit is designed to showcase the enduring nature of the US-French alliance and the Biden administration’s commitment to making amends. A visit to the Suresnes American Cemetery and Armistice Day commemoration will highlight the sacrifices of US and French troops during both world wars. Harris’ appearance at the Paris Peace Forum — an often-overlooked global summit launched by Macron in 2018 — will make her the most senior US official to attend and appears to be a gesture of goodwill to the French President. And at five days, the length of Harris’ trip also signals a seriousness of purpose.
“For Kamala Harris, this is concluding the crisis,” said Gerard Araud, a former French ambassador to Washington. “It’s concluding the reconciliation by this gesture of appreciation.”
Senior administration officials previewing the trip said Harris will look to strengthen the Franco-American partnership in “concrete ways,” but exactly how remains unclear.
A similarly clear-cut outcome will be harder to come by for Harris.
While Biden has affirmed “the importance of a stronger and more capable European defense” — a central priority for Macron — in recent joint statements, there’s no indication that concrete actions to match that rhetoric are imminent.
Still, the visit presents a key test and opportunity for Harris on the world stage. Beyond a bilateral meeting with Macron at the Elysée Palace on Wednesday, the Vice President will also meet with other key European officials during a conference on Libya on Friday attended by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
But Harris’ trip will also be closely watched by her supporters and detractors alike, after her rocky handling of an interview during her first foreign trip to Mexico and Guatemala City in June overshadowed that trip.
Harris subsequently traveled to Singapore and Vietnam in August in the wake of the US’ haphazard withdrawal from Afghanistan, where she faced questions about the withdrawal and sought to solidify the US commitment to bolstering it’s influence in Asia.