Malcolm Turnbull will exit the politically-charged G20 summit in Hamburg on Saturday to head to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The prime minister and President Macron are expected to discuss countering terrorism, boosting trade and Australia's submarine contract.
A former civil servant and merchant banker, Mr Macron won the presidential elections in May, becoming the youngest person to hold the position in his country since Napoleon.
Unlike Mr Turnbull, who hangs on to power with a one-seat majority in the Australian parliament, Mr Macron's La Republique En Marche party with its ally the Democratic Movement has an outright majority of more than 300 seats.
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It will be an early opportunity for the two leaders to form a close working relationship.
In December last year, Australia and France formally sealed a $50 billion agreement under which French naval contractor DCNS (now known as Naval Group) will build a new fleet of diesel-electric submarines based on its nuclear Barracuda.
The French firm beat bidders from Japan and Germany.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has controversially argued a Plan B involving nuclear-powered submarines should be considered alongside the French project.
But Mr Turnbull is standing by the project - the centrepiece of a new defence strategy - as not only good for Australia's security but also providing highly skilled jobs.
In early 2016 DCNS was left reeling after details from more than 22,000 pages of documents relating to submarines it is building for India were published in The Australian newspaper, leading to concerns about the company's ability to protect sensitive data.
However the government is confident processes have been improved.
Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings says France is not only important in terms of the submarine deal but its presence in the Pacific.
"Mr Turnbull understands we need to deepen political and official level contact and do more with the modern relationship than just commemorate battles of a century ago," he told AAP.
Also on the agenda will be a future trade deal with the European Union, the refugee crisis and tackling violent extremism.
Terrorist attacks have claimed more than 230 lives in France over the past two years, most notably in Paris in November 2015 and Nice in July 2016.
Mr Turnbull is expected to take an interest in the French president's plan to overhaul his country's labour laws.
With the French jobless rate just under 10 per cent, and youth unemployment at 22 per cent, the president is seeking to make it easier for companies to hire and fire and have disputes mediated.
However he faces resistance from unions who plan street protests over the summer and a possible strike in September.
The aim of the reform is to cut the jobless rate to seven per cent by 2022.
