The leaders of France and Canada have pledged closer ties to tackle rising geopolitical tensions, climate change and the erosion of democratic values, following a meeting on a French territory just off Canada's Atlantic coast. Nothing says "special relationship" like a hastily arranged summit on a tiny island chain that Donald Trump recently draped in the Stars and Stripes on social media.

The visit to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon by Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney marked the first trip by a French president since 2014 and the first ever by a Canadian prime minister. It came just weeks after Trump posted an image showing the islands, along with all of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, covered by the US flag and labelled "United States of America". Subtlety, as ever, remains the Trump administration's strong suit.

Ottawa has been seeking closer ties with the EU amid an increasingly acrimonious trade war with the US. "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 in a statement alongside Macron on Sunday. "The time has come to strengthen our ties." Because nothing focuses the mind on sovereignty quite like someone casually annexing you on Instagram.

Macron added that the two allies agreed to forge closer ties in sectors ranging from space and climate to energy. "We both believe in democracy, the rule of law, respect for international law, respect for free and fair trade, science as the basis for our decisions, and the strategic autonomy that we defend," the French president said. It was a list so wholesome it could have been written by a committee of librarians.

Diplomats said the visit by Macron, who was en route to the annual UN general assembly of world leaders, carried symbolic weight following Trump's social media post. Responding to questions about the image, Macron dismissed any notion that the territories could not be French, saying he did not need to reaffirm that point every day just because "people have strange ideas or say strange things". A diplomatic masterclass in not taking the bait.

For France, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is strategically important due to its location on the doorstep of the US and the Arctic. The territory also occupies a key place in France's cooperation with Canada, including over energy. Macron, whose government is facing increased pressure at home over rising fuel prices, said the talks had opened the door for bilateral discussions aimed at sealing concrete deals. Paris hopes Canada will broaden its exports of liquefied natural gas to Europe rather than primarily to Asia. "Canadian liquefied natural gas projects can help. They are important for Europe," Macron said. Because nothing says "energy independence" like shipping gas past the country that just claimed your islands on a map.

The two leaders also discussed Canada's relationship with the EU after the bloc proposed that Ottawa become its first associate member, something Macron said France supported. Trump threatened the EU with "serious tariffs" and a halt to trade after the proposal - an idea he derided as "laughable". The feeling, one suspects, is mutual.

Any move towards deeper integration is likely to face hurdles. More than a decade after the EU and Canada agreed to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, and nine years after its provisional application began, several EU member states have yet to ratify the accord, including France. So while the symbolism was impeccable, the paperwork remains, as ever, stuck somewhere in a filing cabinet in Brussels.