ICYMI: Vice President Harris's Trip to France

The Vice President's trip to France was productive as she built on the Biden-Harris Administration's work to deepen cooperation with close Allies and partners, and reestablish American leadership on the world stage.

While in Paris, the Vice President exercised American leadership on consequential global challenges through a series of engagements. Following her bilateral meeting with President Macron, the Vice President announced a number of collaborative initiatives that the United States will undertake alongside France and other countries to address global issues and emerging threats—including expanded cooperation on space and support for efforts to advance international cooperation in cybersecurity.

The Vice President spoke at the Paris Peace Forum making the case for addressing inequality on a global scale. She attended the Paris Conference on Libya, to show American support for the Libyan people as they work to reestablish their sovereignty and establish lasting peace. The Vice President honored the bravery and sacrifice of our Veterans—and all those who have fought and died in the service of freedom and peace—with visits to the Suresnes American Cemetery and an Armistice Day ceremony, and she visited the Institut Pasteur to underscore the longstanding scientific collaboration between the United States and France to tackle global challenges, especially now as we work to end this pandemic and prepare for the next.

Read select media coverage of the trip below:

CNN: Harris' trip to Paris signals a relationship back on track
[Jeremy Diamond, 11/13/21]

"I want to thank you for your presence. You're more than welcome not just in this palace with myself and my ministers, but I can tell you that French people are extremely proud to have you here today," Macron said as he opened a meeting with Harris at the Elysée, adding in French that he was "extremely grateful" for her visit.

Harris' visit to the Elysée gave her and Macron an opportunity to spend time one-on-one, without aides present, before sitting down for a bilateral meeting that went over time, prompting French protocol officials to enter the room three times in an effort to wrap up the meeting.

Harris and Macron laughed about those attempts the next morning as they met for the Armistice Day Ceremony.

Beyond their time together, Harris' solo visits were also powerful diplomatic messaging moments.

Harris' multi-hour attendance and remarks at the Paris Peace Forum helped lend credibility to a Macron initiative. Her visit to the French biomedical research Pasteur Institute highlighted longstanding French-American cooperation on scientific research -- as well as Harris' own personal connection to that cooperation in the form of her mother's research at the institute in the 80s. And a final visit to one of the sites of the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris on the sixth anniversary underscored shared values and a commitment to fighting terrorism.

But it was Harris' visit to the Suresnes American Cemetery, where Americans who fought and died in France during World Wars I and II are buried, that served as perhaps the most powerful reminder of the shared sacrifice between the two countries and a deeply rooted bond.

"If there is any question about the why or the what, in terms of our relationship as the United States with France, that is one visual and one concrete example of the endurance and the mutual commitment and interdependence between the United States and France," Harris said on Friday, reflecting on her visit to the cemetery.

Los Angeles Times: On trip to France, Kamala Harris is introducing herself to the world in personal terms
[Noah Bierman, 11/11/21]

As she introduces herself to America's oldest ally, the vice president is doing so in personal terms.

She visited a Parisian laboratory where her mother, an Indian-born scientist, conducted medical research, and as part of her Veterans Day remembrance went to the gravesite of the fellow barrier-breaker from Oakland, Harris' hometown. Her keynote speech at the Paris Peace Forum on Thursday included references to her mother along with larger themes around growing inequality in the world.

[…]

Harris was featured prominently in news accounts after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday night, and was shown multiple times on live television Thursday, when she chatted amicably with Macron during the national commemoration of Armistice Day under the Arc de Triomphe.

Axios: U.S. joins global cybersecurity partnership ignored by Trump
[Rebecca Falconer, 11/14/21]

The U.S. is now part of an international agreement on cybersecurity that the Trump administration declined to sign up for, Vice President Kamala Harris announced in Paris Wednesday.

Why it matters: 80 countries, along with hundreds of tech companies — including Microsoft and Google — nonprofits and universities have signed the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, established in 2018 to create international norms and laws for cybersecurity and warfare.

Details: The U.S. support of the voluntary Paris Call reflects the Biden administration's "priority to renew and strengthen America's engagement with the international community on cyber issues," per a White House statement.

• It builds on U.S. efforts to improve cybersecurity for citizens and businesses, the statement continued.
• This includes "rallying G7 countries to hold accountable nations that harbor cyber criminals, supporting the update of NATO cyber policy for the first time in seven years, and the recent counter-ransomware engagement with over 30 countries around the world to accelerate international cooperation to combat cybercrime."

Bloomberg: U.S. Vows Closer Ties with France on Space, Cyber Threats
[Jennifer Jacobs, 11/10/21]

Vice President Kamala Harris announced U.S. efforts to work more closely with France to combat cyber threats and to cooperate on space exploration and commercial development.

[…]

Harris announced that the U.S. would support the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, which the White House described as "a voluntary commitment to work with the international community to advance cybersecurity and preserve the open, interoperable, secure, and reliable internet."

"The United States looks forward to continued partnership with France and other governments, private sector, and civil society around the world to advance and promote norms of responsible behavior in cyberspace," the White House said in a statement.

U.S. officials also will engage in regular talks with their French counterparts on space cooperation, and the U.S. will join an international consortium called the Space Climate Observatory, aimed at combating climate change.

Reuters: Macron Welcomes U.S. VP Harris at Armistice Day Event
[11/11/21]

"It's important for us to be here. We have a long and shared history," Harris told Macron before the ceremony at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe.

[…]

Holding hands with Macron on Thursday, Harris said she "liked" the discussions with the president, adding that they have "covered a lot of ground."

During Thursday's ceremony, Macron paid tribute to Hubert Germain, the last surviving member of an order honouring heroes of France's liberation during World War Two who died in October.

The Hill: Harris Urges World Leaders in Paris to Address Inequality
[Brett Samuels, 11/11/21]

Vice President Harris on Thursday implored world leaders gathered in Paris to see the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to examine how to address global inequality.

Harris spoke at the Paris Peace Forum, an annual gathering of political and private sector leaders, where she focused her remarks on the need for collaboration to erase gender inequality, wealth inequality and food inequality.

She noted the pandemic has exacerbated many of those issues, with school closures threatening access to education for children and highlighting disparities in internet access, and economic troubles hampering progress to close the gaps between men and women in the workforce.

[…]

"These growing gaps are unacceptable, and we must agree to work together to bridge them," Harris added. "And here I want to be clear: This is not about charity. This is about our duty and what we owe to each other as human beings. This is also a strategic imperative."

Harris argued the world was too interconnected for nations to avoid collaborating on 21st century problems, noting how the pandemic could quickly spread across borders and how one country's emissions can damage the environment around the globe.

Wall Street Journal: World Leaders Pressure Libya to Hold Elections on Time
[Jared Malsin, 11/12/21]

Vice President Kamala Harris and other world leaders gathered in Paris on Friday to make a diplomatic push in support of coming elections in Libya that could make or break the peace process in a country that has been torn apart by war and political crisis for a decade.

Ms. Harris, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and other European and Middle Eastern leaders joined the summit, which ended with a statement urging Libyans to hold the election as scheduled on Dec. 24. French officials have argued that holding the election on time will provide a definitive solution to Libya's political crises since the 2011 ouster and death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

AFP: Harris lays wreath as France marks six years since terror attacks
[11/13/21]

US Vice President Kamala Harris laid a wreath of white flowers in front of a Paris cafe on Saturday as France marked six years since deadly terror attacks that left 130 people dead.

Harris, wrapping up a four-day trip to France, placed the bouquet in front of a plaque honouring the victims that were mowed down when gunmen opened fire at a concert hall and in front of cafes in Paris on the night of November 13, 2015.

This year's commemorations of the worst attacks in France since World War II come as a trial is being held over the tragedy that was ordered by the Islamic State group and carried out by a 10-man cell.

People: Kamala Harris Visits Lab Where Late Mom Researched Breast Cancer: 'The Basis for a Lot of Great Work'
[Virginia Chamlee, 11/9/21]

Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off a four-day tour of of Paris on Tuesday with a visit to a lab in which her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, worked in the 1980s, conducting breast cancer research.

Arriving at the Pasteur Institute on Tuesday alongside husband Doug Emhoff, the vice president met with a virologist and a researcher who are studying the various symptoms that arise from those diagnosed with COVID-19.

"Some of the most significant discoveries in science on any issue — from rabies, to HIV/AIDS, to breast cancer, to mRNA and what we do around vaccines and pandemics — have occurred here in collaboration with French scientists, American scientists, scientists from around the world coming together," Harris said during her tour, according to the press pool traveling with her. "And I know this just based on my entire life experience as the daughter of my mother — which is the work happens around the globe and it's collaborative."

Harris also spoke about the work her mom did while working at the Institut Pasteur, which included research detecting early breast cancer.