US-French rift seems to heal after Biden-Macron call

Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron during the G7 summit in Cornwall (Phil Noble, PA)

The most significant rift in decades between the United States and France seemed to be healing Wednesday, after French president Emmanuel Macron and US president Joe Biden got on the phone to smooth things over.

In a half-hour call that the White House described as friendly, the two leaders agreed to meet next month to discuss the way forward after the French fiercely objected when the US, Australia and the UK announced a new Indo-Pacific defence deal last week that cost the French a submarine contract worth billions.