“France is Greece’s true ally,” Mitsotakis said, adding that “the highlight of the Greece-France agreements is the commitments to mutual assistance.”
On top of a broader “enhanced comprehensive strategic partnership,” the two governments signed agreements in areas from education to scientific research to nuclear energy.
During the visit, French defense giant MBDA also signed a contract to continue support for the Greek army’s Mica missiles.
In parallel, the two leaders insisted on the need to clarify how the EU’s mutual defense clause — Article 42.7 of the Treaty on the EU — would work in practice, while stressing that the clause should not be seen as a replacement for NATO’s Article 5 security guarantee.
Earlier on Saturday, at the Piraeus port, Macron and Mitsotakis visited a Greek frigate built by France’s Naval Group with French Defense and Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin and the company’s CEO Pierre-Eric Pommelet.