Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon to reaffirm sovereignty

Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will reaffirm the “sovereignty of nations” on September 20 in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory in the North Atlantic, in the face of the desires of Donald Trump, the Élysée announced on Sunday. “This will be the first official visit by a Canadian prime minister to the archipelago, a symbol of the strength of the relationship that unites our two countries,” said the French presidency, confirming information from La Tribune Dimanche.

The archipelago, located about twenty kilometers from the coast of Newfoundland, at the eastern end of Canada, has three islands, linked by sandy isthmuses, and 6,000 inhabitants. Emmanuel Macron will stop there on his way to New York, where he is due to attend the UN General Assembly. “France and Canada share the same values ​​of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for the sovereignty of nations,” underlined the French presidency.

“In a world marked by the return of the balance of power, geopolitical tensions and new dependencies, France and Canada share the same ambition: to work together, and with all the countries which share these values, to strengthen their capacity to decide, and to act for themselves,” she added. American President Donald Trump sparked a new controversy by posting on his social networks on Monday a “map” covering with the flag of the United States the territories of Canada, Greenland – which he also openly covets – Mexico and the Antilles.

Encompassing several overseas French territories, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. The French archipelago in the North Atlantic was already the scene of tensions with the United States during the Second World War, when France was under German occupation. In December 1941, the Free French Forces of General de Gaulle took control, despite the opposition of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who wanted to maintain the status quo with the government of Marshal Pétain in Vichy.

The last visit by a French president to these strategic islands, located 4,300 kilometers from the metropolis, dates back to François Hollande in 2014. Emmanuel Macron is expected there from September 19 to 21. He will have visited almost all of the twelve French overseas territories, with the exception of Wallis and Futuna and the Southern and Antarctic Lands, before his departure from the Élysée in 2027.

The Head of State will also discuss with elected officials and local economic players the situation of the archipelago, on the front line in the face of global warming, and its “development prospects”. Faced with the disappearance of coastal ice, the village of Miquelon had to make an unprecedented move. Its 600 inhabitants are considered the first climate refugees in France. The president "will discuss in particular the growth of strategic sectors such as space, fishing, digital technology or the blue economy (activities linked to the sea, Editor's note)", specified the Élysée.

Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney will also work “to strengthen the links between the archipelago and Canada, to facilitate exchanges and to support its development, particularly in the economic and human fields”.