France won’t grant crab licence off Newfoundland without discussion, ambassador says
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ST. JOHN’S – France’s ambassador to Canada says her country has not issued a fishing licence off the coast of Newfoundland, despite a reported pledge from the French president.
Hélène Farnaud-Defromont said France would not take such a step without consulting Canada, as per the agreements between the two countries. And France has no intention of challenging those fishing agreements with Canada, she said.
“We do things properly; we’re not going to change the rules or turn everything upside down,” she said recently, in her first interview since her posting began last month. “We want to respect the agreements we have, including in this area, with all our major partners, and obviously with Canada.”
Media outlets including franceinfo reported last month that French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to grant an exploratory snow crab licence to a fishing company in St-Pierre-Miquelon, a French archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland.
Joanne Thompson, Canada’s fisheries minister, said the licence was proposed in an area Canada claims as an extension of its continental shelf. In a post to the X platform last month, she encouraged France to back away from the plan, saying she was discussing her department’s next move with Global Affairs Canada.
News of the proposed licence came shortly after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Macron in St-Pierre-Miquelon, which is home to roughly 5,800 people.
Farnaud-Defromont applauded Carney’s visit as historic, saying it was the first official visit to the islands by a sitting Canadian prime minister.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2026.
— With files from Dylan Robertson