French president Francois Hollande backs Australian military alliance and possible free trade deal

Australia and France are still considered allies more than a century after World War I because the two countries are fighting terrorism together, according to French president Francois Hollande.

Mr Hollande became the first French president to visit Australia when he arrived for the G20 last week.

He has wrapped up bilateral talks with Prime Minister Tony Abbott in Canberra.

Mr Hollande focused on the shared World War I experiences of France and Australia during his visit to Canberra.

At a joint press conference with Mr Abbott, the French president said the partnership between the two countries had not diminished.

"It was also a visit during which France and Australia came together, two countries who never lost one another, because they were linked by history," he said.

"[A] dramatic and human history, and we will have an opportunity to recognise the sacrifice of Australian soldiers who came to save France twice, and we will never forget this."

Mr Hollande said the two countries were still allied on defence issues.

"We have French companies, Australian companies that are currently developing various pieces of equipment which are most important for France's strategic strength, and these components are currently being manufactured in Australia," he said.

He said France had done what it could to prevent its citizens fighting for Islamic State.

"We must be vigilant, and we must be strong," he said.

"We must be very clear that we condemn these sort of actions ... and we must also act to ensure that violence in Jerusalem ceases, and that conditions for resuming talks may finally be such that this dialogue can occur.

"We must act and we must be responsible in our actions."

Free trade agreement with EU on the cards

Mr Abbott said the Government's next priority would be to establish a free trade agreement with the European Union.

Mr Abbott said he had been encouraged by the discussions with France over the possibility of a free trade deal.

"Everyone wants to get these things done more quickly, because all of us appreciate that trade means jobs, trade means prosperity, and trade ultimately means security," he said.

"Trade and business partnerships are often the foundation of friendship.

"We'll do it as quickly as we can, and that might be more quickly than people think."

Mr Hollande has backed Mr Abbott's push for a free trade agreement.

"We believe it is very important to have this exchange because while coming to Australia we can access the Asian markets as well," he said.

But the French leader did warn that Australia would have to make its own concessions.

"We are very much in favour of this, the European Union will bring this forward, with a design that has to be very wide ranging," he said.

"[It will] allow for certain products which currently can not come into Australia to be admitted.

"I'm thinking of pork producers, who have a lot of difficulty in terms of having their products [bought] by Australian consumers."

'Differing opinions on tackling climate change'

But the French president admitted there were some differing opinions over the issue of climate change.

Yesterday Mr Hollande announced funding for Pacific island nations to help restore ecosystems affected by climate change.

Paris will host a world climate change summit next year.

"I know there are certain provisions and certain opinions differ as to how we can better deal with climate change in this region, but it is very important that we underline this during the G20 and during the state visits," Mr Hollande said.

"What is important is our objective and then each country can organise itself to decide how it will tackle it and what is the best way to ensure that we can deal with climate change but not impact on growth.

"How can we control global warming? We know that this is an area where we have potential for creating wealth."

Mr Hollande and Mr Abbott also planted a tree at the Australian War Memorial, in a mix of Australian soil and French soil that was dug out of the Australian War Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux.