The paths of these two stars have intersected on several occasions due to their association with the luxury brand Bulgari
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday evening that France is immediately recalling its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia in a backlash over a submarine deal.
Le Drian said in a statement that the 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 the cancellation by Australia of a big contract to buy French conventional submarines in favor of nuclear-powered subs built with US technology is “unacceptable behavior.”
Earlier on Friday, a top French diplomat spoke of a “crisis” in relations with the US after Paris learned, just before the public announcement, that Australia was scrapping a big purchase of French conventional submarines in favor of nuclear subs built with U.S. technology.
The diplomat, who spoke anonymously in line with customary government practice, 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 U.S. “There’s a crisis,” he stressed.
French President Emmanuel Macron has not commented on the issue since President Joe Biden’s announcement of a strategic Indo-Pacific alliance with Australia and Britain, leading France to lose a nearly $100 billion deal to build diesel-electric submarines.
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 Friday that Macron received a letter from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday morning announcing the decision to cancel the submarine deal.
French officials then decided to reach out to the U.S. administration "to ask what was going on," he said. He added that discussions with Washington took place just two to three hours before Biden's public announcement.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday expressed “total incomprehension” at the move and criticized both Australia and the U.S.
“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.”
He also compared Biden's move to those of his predecessor, Donald Trump, under Trump’s “America First” doctrine.
Paris had raised the issue of the Indo-Pacific strategy during the June 25 visit to Paris of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, expressing the importance of its submarine program with Australia, the diplomat said.
“We said that is was for us a very important and critical component in our Indo-Pacific strategy,” he said. Blinken met with Macron during the visit.
The French diplomat said Australia never mentioned to France before its will to shift to nuclear-powered submarines, including during a meeting between Macron and Morrison in Paris on June 15.
The paths of these two stars have intersected on several occasions due to their association with the luxury brand Bulgari
The students' demands range from a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas to calls for universities to stop investing in Israeli enterprises
Despite Kohli's flowing form ahead of the T20 World Cup in June, pundits have raised concerns over his strike-rate
Saudi Arabia has begun to explore extracting lithium from sea water
Speaking after meeting Lebanese leaders, French foreign minister says there had been "a lot of progress" over the French proposals
The three-shot winner from Japan says he is aiming to become a member of the PGA Tour in the future
Big-hitting Nienaber falters at the finish to settle for secondwhile former Abu Dhabi resident David Horsey takes the third spot at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
The UAE is India's second-largest export destination after the US