Macron, Carney Pal It Up

Canada and France picked a tiny French island just off Canada's shores to explore the burgeoning flirtation between Ottawa and the European Union as both try to negotiate a world in which they are increasingly estranged from the United States. As the Guardian reports, Marc Carney and Emmanuel Macron sidled up to each other Sunday on Saint-Pierre and Miquelon with a not-so-subtle message about their tighter cooperation on climate, energy, security, and democratic norms, casting their alliance as a counterweight in a tense geopolitical moment. "Our societies are being shaken by new storms: the upheavals caused by climate change, the erosion of democratic norms, and new threats to our sovereignty," Carney said at Macron's side. "The time has come to strengthen our ties."

The elephant in the room, President Trump—who has mocked the EU proposal to embrace Canada as its first "associate member" and recently posted a US-flag-draped map that swept in Canada, the French territories, and much of the region—went unmentioned, notes the New York Times. Macron brushed Trump's map, saying he didn't need to restate French sovereignty every time "people have strange ideas." Carney and Macron also discussed expanding Canadian exports of liquefied natural gas to Europe instead of Asia. Trump has mocked any deepening of ties between the two as "laughable" and threatened the EU with tariffs should it pursue closer relations with Canada.