Kamala Harris asked how France trip would 'prepare' her for the presidency

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Vice President Harris takes questions from reporters at end of Paris trip

Vice President Harris takes questions from reporters at end of trip to Paris amid strained US-French relations.

Vice President Kamala Harris was asked how her trip to France has prepared her for the presidency as she walked out of a shop in Paris Saturday.

The vice president, who looked at the reporter with an expression of surprise, did not directly answer the question but instead touted the success of her diplomatic mission. 

"I will tell you it was a very productive and a good trip," she said, adding that the U.S. has "a lot of follow up to do."

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris during a news conference in Paris, France, on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Harris, this week during her five-day trip to Paris, announced U.S. efforts to work more closely with France to combat cyber threats and to cooperate on space exploration and commercial development. Photographer: Laurent Zabulon/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Photographer: Laurent Zabulon/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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 "As we’ve discussed extensively over the past couple of days, this trip was about of course making clear the long-standing relationship, but also that as we go into a new era for the world that our work will continue," Harris said. "We do it with a sense of optimism, but with a sense of strong conviction that the partnership between the United States and France remains and will continue to be a very strong one."

Harris joined French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week at an event at the Arc de Triomphe celebrating Armistice Day in remembrance of the end of WWI. 

The pair appeared in good spirits, signaling improved ties between the U.S. and France following a sour submarine contract that left French officials feeling snubbed.  

France's President Emmanuel Macron welcomes US Vice-President Kamala Harris (R) upon arrival for the International conference on Libya at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris on November 12, 2021. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images) (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

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Harris said she and Macron did not discuss the secretly negotiated U.S.-U.K. submarine deal with Australia that effectively voided a previously established contract between France and the Aussie nation.

The dispute "was not the purpose of the trip and we didn’t discuss it," Harris told reporters Friday.  

Harris’ trip to Paris is the first European stop for the vice president and marked her second foreign trip after her first excursion to Mexico and Guatemala in June.  

PARIS, FRANCE - NOVEMBER 13: United States Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff are seen leaving France at Orly Airport on November 13, 2021 in Paris, France. The Vice President has been in Paris for five days, during which time she has attended several official events, including the Armistice Day commemoration, and met with French President Emmanuel Macron. (Photo by Marc Piasecki/Getty Images) (Photo by Marc Piasecki/Getty Images)

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While her travels this summer were marred by partisan fighting over the Biden administration’s immigration policies, Harris’ most recent trip appears to have been a diplomatic success – though she faced some criticism for appearing to adopt a French accent while visiting a lab. 

Harris is set to return to Washington, D.C. Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.