France recalls ambassadors in Aukus row
Fury in Paris over security alliance as deal means loss of $100bn submarine contract with Australia
‘This is a strategic question concerning the very nature of the relationship between Europe and the US on the Indo-pacific strategy’
‘It was really a stab in the back. We built a relationship of trust with Australia and this trust was betrayed’
FRANCE recalled its ambassadors to the US and Australia last night in response to the countries signing a landmark security partnership with the UK, which resulted in the loss of a near $100 billion (£72.8billion) submarine contract between Paris and Canberra.
Jean-yves Le Drian, the foreign minister, said in a written statement that the French decision, on request from president Emmanuel Macron, “is justified by the exceptional seriousness of the announcements” made by Australia and the United States.
He said Wednesday’s announcement of Australia’s submarine deal with the US is “unacceptable behaviour between allies and partners”. Last night’s announcement came just hours after a top French diplomat spoke of a “crisis” in relations with the US.
The diplomat, who spoke anonymously, said that for Paris “this is a strategic question concerning the very nature of the relationship between Europe and the United States about the Indo-pacific strategy”. He would not speculate on the effects the situation would have on France’s relationship with the US.
Mr Macron has not commented on the issue since US President Joe Biden’s announcement of the strategic IndoPacific alliance with Australia and Britain, leading France to lose the submarine deal.
France has pushed for several years for a European strategy for boosting economic, political and defense ties in the region stretching from India and China to Japan and New Zealand. The EU unveiled this week its plan for the Indo-pacific.
The French diplomat said Mr Macron received a letter from Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, on Wednesday announcing the decision to cancel the submarine deal.
He added that discussions with Washington took place just two to three hours before Mr Biden’s announcement.
On Thursday, Mr Le Drian expressed “total incomprehension” at the move and criticised both Australia and the US.
“It was really a stab in the back. We built a relationship of trust with Australia, and this trust was betrayed,” he said. “This is not done between allies.”
Further ire was directed at the US as Mr Le Drian compared Mr Biden’s move to those of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
“The American choice to push aside a European ally and partner like France … shows a lack of coherence that France can only note and regret,” according to a joint statement from Mr Le Drian and Florence Parly, the defense minister.
France also cancelled a reception at its ambassador’s house in Washington set for Friday. The event was meant to celebrate the anniversary of a decisive naval battle in the American Revolution, in which France played a key role.
Paris had raised the issue of the Indopacific strategy during the June 25 visit to Paris of Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, expressing the importance of its submarine program with Australia, the diplomat said. Mr Blinken met with Mr Macron during the visit.
The French diplomat said Australia never mentioned to France its will to shift to nuclear-powered submarines, including during a meeting between Mr Macron and Mr Morrison in Paris on June 15.
It came as Luigi Di Maio, Italy’s foreign minister, urged the EU to pool its military might after it was blindsided by the nuclear submarine pact between the UK, the US and Australia.
He said the agreement, known as the Aukus deal, proved the time was right for closer EU military integration and a common foreign and defence policy.