US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks in Paris on Tuesday after a Washington-based NGO was struck by an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza, adding pressure on the United States to toughen its stance in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Blinken arrived in the French capital before heading to Brussels for a NATO ministerial meeting on Wednesday.
He is scheduled to visit, with Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, a weapons' factory providing howitzer canons to Ukraine, before meeting with Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne and with President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron has in recent weeks adopted a more hawkish stance towards Russia, amid fears that Ukraine is losing ground and support in the war, notably as the United States struggles to approve a multi-billion dollar military aid package for Kyiv.