Macron, Carney to visit French islands after Trump map post

PARIS

AFP Photo

The leaders of France and Canada will visit France's North Atlantic territory of Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon to underscore their support for national borders, the French presidency said on Sept. 13.

The joint trip follows U.S. President Donald Trump's social media post displaying territorial ambitions across the region.

Trump posted an image on Sept. 7 showing a North American map with Canada, Greenland, Mexico, parts of Central America, the Caribbean and Iceland covered by the U.S. flag.

The altered map also encompassed French overseas territories, including Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, Guadeloupe and Martinique.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney plan a symbolic visit to reaffirm shared values of freedom, democracy, rule of law and national sovereignty, the Elysee said.

Macron will visit the territory on Sept. 19-21, with Carney joining the French leader on Sept. 20.

Both nations share a common ambition to strengthen independent decision-making amid geopolitical tensions and power politics, the Elysee added.

The archipelago of Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon sits about 20 kilometers off Canada's Atlantic coast and houses around 6,000 residents.

Macron will stop at the islands en route to New York for the U.N. General Assembly.

The event marks the first official visit by a Canadian prime minister to the archipelago.

The territory previously experienced tensions with Washington during World War II.

General Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces seized the islands from the collaborationist Vichy regime in 1941 despite U.S. opposition.

Francois Hollande made the last French presidential visit to the strategic archipelago in 2014.

Macron will also address local climate change challenges, including the relocation of Miquelon village inland to escape rising sea levels.