Archive · 20 Sep 2026
Macron, Carney Meet in Saint Pierre and Miquelon Amid Tensions
Emmanuel Macron is the president of France.
He is visiting Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a small French territory near Canada.
He is meeting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney there.
The visit happens after Donald Trump shared a picture that showed the islands under the U.S. flag.
France says the islands are French and wants to highlight that fact.
The meeting also shows that France and Canada have a close relationship.
The leaders will discuss energy, climate change, and ocean territory.
They will also talk about Canada working more closely with the European Union.
That cooperation could be difficult because some European countries have not approved an existing trade agreement with Canada.
Emmanuel Macron is meeting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Saint Pierre and Miquelon, France’s territory off Canada’s Atlantic coast.
The visit is Macron’s first to the archipelago as president since François Hollande went there in 2014.
French officials say the trip will emphasize France’s sovereignty and its close relationship with Canada.
The meeting follows Donald Trump’s social-media image depicting the islands under the U.S. flag.
Macron and Carney are expected to discuss energy, climate change, maritime sovereignty, and closer Canada-European Union ties.
- Who
- French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, with the visit also occurring in the context of U.S. President Donald Trump’s map.
- What
- A meeting about French sovereignty, France-Canada cooperation, energy, and Canada’s relationship with the European Union.
- When
- Macron arrived late Saturday, with the meeting scheduled for Sunday, ahead of the annual United Nations General Assembly.
- Where
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French archipelago off Canada’s Atlantic coast.
- Why
- To underscore French sovereignty, highlight ties with Canada, and discuss energy and closer Canada-European Union cooperation amid strained U.S.-Canada relations.
French-Canadian Position
U.S. Context
Status of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
French-Canadian Position
France says the archipelago is French, and Macron’s visit is intended to underscore French sovereignty over the territory.
U.S. Context
Trump’s social-media image depicted Saint Pierre and Miquelon under the U.S. flag, although France did not publicly respond when the image was posted.
Future international partnerships
French-Canadian Position
Canada and France are discussing closer Canada-European Union cooperation in areas including energy, trade, defence, technology, and critical minerals.
U.S. Context
The broader push for closer European ties is occurring amid strained Canada-U.S. relations and an increasingly acrimonious trade conflict with the United States.
Canada’s energy role
French-Canadian Position
Macron wants Canada to broaden its liquefied natural gas exports to Europe rather than primarily to Asia.
U.S. Context
The articles do not report a competing position from the United States or Canada on the proposed change in export destinations.
- Population
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon has about 5,800 inhabitants.
- French territory
- It is France’s only remaining territory in North America.
- Macron’s visit
- It is the first visit by a French president to the archipelago since François Hollande travelled there in 2014.
- Trump’s image
- A social-media image posted by Donald Trump showed the archipelago covered by the U.S. flag.
- Strategic importance
- French officials cited the territory’s North Atlantic location near the United States and the Arctic, maritime sovereignty, and climate change.
- Energy discussions
- Macron said he wanted Canada to broaden its liquefied natural gas exports to Europe rather than primarily to Asia.
- EU-Canada trade
- The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement has been provisionally applied since 2017, but several European Union member states, including France, have not ratified it.
