Vice President Kamala Harris wound down her four-day Paris trip Friday by reflecting on the discussions she’s had with French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders.

Harris filled in reporters on the topics she and Macron have discussed in recent days. 

On Tuesday, the vice president and second gentleman Doug Emhoff visited the the Pasteur Institute, where she met with American and French scientists working on COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness. She paid her respects Wednesday to Americans who died in the two world wars and are buried in a cemetery overlooking the Paris skyline before meeting with Macron at Élysée Palace.

On Thursday, Harris attended the annual Armistice Day wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider at the Arc de Triomphe to honor French and American soldiers who died in World War I. Afterward, she made an appeal at the Paris Peace Forum for world leaders to address inequality and then attended a high-level meeting focused on global cybersecurity. 

Harris had one more stop to make after Friday’s news conference before returning home, as she was participating in an international conference on Libya ahead of its elections next month. 

Here are five takeaways from Harris’ press conference, which covered more ground than just the France trip.

No submarine talk

While the vice president listed the range of topics she discussed with Macron during their meeting, the headline was the one issue she said was not mentioned: the spat between the U.S. and France over submarine sales to Australia. 

Washington angered France in September by reaching a deal to sell nuclear-powered subs to Australia, forcing the Aussies to back out of a $66 billion contract they had with France. President Joe Biden told Macron last month that the U.S. was “clumsy” in how it handled the situation.

Harris said the matter never came up with Macron this week.

“I will tell you that was not the purpose of this trip, and we didn't discuss it,” she said. “What we did discuss is the issues that are challenging us and the issues that are the basis for this relationship, and the strength and the endurance of this relationship.”

Symone Sanders, the vice president’s chief spokeswoman, said earlier this week that the Biden administration is “focused on looking forward, not looking backward.”

Issues addressed

Harris said she and the French president did discuss global health, space, regional security, the Indo-Pacific, counterterrorism and cybersecurity.

Part of their discussion about the pandemic addressed vaccine inequity, she said. Harris also said she and Macron talked about emerging technologies and economic and national security related to space.

On Wednesday, Harris said Macron expressed his intention to join the Artemis Accords, an American-led international pact aimed at ensuring space exploration is conducted responsibly and sustainably. Countries that enter into the agreement make a number of commitments, including sharing information about their space programs, promoting interoperability of space systems to maximize collaboration, minimizing space debris generation and providing emergency assistance.

Harris said she and Macron also discussed how to combat cyberattacks, including ransomware, but also that threaten democratic elections. 

“This trip, I believe, signals in a very clear way the enduring, the long-standing and the future alliances and commitment between the people of the United States and France and our governments,” the vice president said. “I believe that this trip also reaffirms the commitment of the United States to working with our partners worldwide.”

Fighting inflation a ‘priority’

When asked about rising inflation back home, Harris acknowledged that it’s a “big issue” that the Biden administration takes “very seriously.”

Americans are dealing with the highest inflation rate in 31 years. A Labor Department report Wednesday said the prices for U.S. consumers in October jumped 6.2% from a year earlier.

“Prices have gone up, and families and individuals are dealing with the realities that that bread costs more, the gas cost more,” Harris said. “And we have to understand what that means. That's about the cost of living going up. That's about having to stress and stretch limited resources.”

The vice president said supply-chain issues are affecting countries all over the world and that one way the Biden administration is trying to address the problem is by extending hours at ports.

But she said Biden’s sweeping Build Back Better agenda also includes many proposals aimed helping working families financially, including lower child and elder care costs and free universal pre-kindergarten. 

Frustrated about battle over paid family leave

Harris admitted she was frustrated that paid family leave had been stripped from Biden’s spending package. Last week, Democratic leaders announced they had reinserted the measure, but it still remains clear if it has the support to clear Congress. 

The proposal now calls for four weeks of paid family and medical leave, down from the 12 weeks Biden initially sought.

“Yes, I'm frustrated,” Harris said. “And it is, I think, a shame that we are not yet a leader on this. We have work to do.”

The vice president said it’s “an issue that impacts working women (and) not only directly impacts the economy of their household, it impacts the economy of our whole society. 

“When you lift up the economic status of women, you necessarily lift up the economic status of families, and all of society benefits,” she said.

Election Day response

Harris was asked if Democrats have been too dismissive about this month’s two gubernatorial elections. In Virginia — a state that had turned bluer in recent years — Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe. And in New Jersey, Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy narrowly defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli.

Harris said there has been “robust dialogue” since the election, but did not elaborate.

Instead, she said the Biden administration has been focused on winning voters over by working to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Build Back Better plan.

“What they want is that we're not sitting around talking about politics, that we're talking about, instead, the policies that are going to impact them and improve their lives,” Harris said. “And that's where we're putting our attention.”