France was outraged after Australia announced it would cancel a deal to buy submarines from France and instead purchase nuclear submarines from the U.S.
PARIS — 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 canceled 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 U.S. He said the cancellation by Australia of a big contract to buy French conventional submarines in favor of nuclear-powered subs built with U.S. technology is « unacceptable behavior. » « At the request of President Macron, I have decided to immediately recall our ambassadors to the United States and Australia to Paris for consultations, » Le Drian said. « This extraordinary decision reflects the exceptional seriousness of the announcements made on September 15 by Australia and the United States. The abandonment of the ocean-class submarine project that Australia and France had been working on since 2016 and the announcement of a new partnership with the United States aimed at studying the possibility of future cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines constitute unacceptable behavior among allies and partners; their consequences affect the very concept we have of our alliances, our partnerships, and the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe.
