Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday that Australia’s announcement of a submarine deal with the US was “an unacceptable behavior between allies and partners”.
France said late on 17 September it was immediately recalling its ambassadors to the US and Australia Australia canceled a major French conventional submarine purchase In favor of a nuclear sub built with American technology.
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Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a written statement that France’s decision, at the request of President Emmanuel Macron, was “justified by the extraordinary seriousness of the declarations” made by Australia and the United States.
He said Wednesday’s announcement Australia’s submarine deal There is “unacceptable behavior between allies and partners” with the US.
Earlier on 17 September, a top French diplomat spoke of a “crisis” in relations with the US.
The diplomat, who spoke anonymously in line with customary government practice, said that for Paris “this is a strategic question concerning the nature of the relationship between Europe and the United States regarding the Indo-Pacific strategy”.
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He did not anticipate how this situation would affect France’s relations with the US “a crisis,” he insisted.
Mr Macron has not commented on the issue since the president Joe Biden announces strategic Indo-Pacific alliance with Australia and Britain, France lost a deal worth about $100 billion to build diesel-electric submarines.
France has pushed for a European strategy for many years to boost economic, political and defense ties in a region spanning from India and China to Japan and New Zealand. The European Union this week unveiled its plan for the Indo-Pacific.
The French diplomat said on Friday that Mr Macron received a letter from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday morning announcing the decision to scrap the submarine deal.
French officials then decided to contact the US administration “to ask what was going on”, he said. He said discussions with Washington took place just two to three hours before Mr Biden’s public announcement.
Mr Le Drian expressed “absolute understanding” of the move on 16 September and criticized both Australia and the US
“It was really a stab in the back. We built a relationship of trust with Australia and that trust was betrayed.” “It’s not done between allies.”
He compared Mr Biden’s move to his predecessor Donald Trump’s move under Mr Trump’s “America First” principle.
The diplomat said Paris had raised the issue of the Indo-Pacific strategy during US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Paris on June 25, expressing the importance of its submarine program with Australia.
“We said this was a very important and important component for us in our Indo-Pacific strategy,” he said. Mr. Blinken met Mr. Macron during the visit.
The French diplomat said that during a meeting between Mr Macron and Mr Morrison in Paris on June 15, Australia had never mentioned France before its desire to move to nuclear-powered submarines.
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