Status: 18.09.2021 5:05 p.m.
The conflict over a collapsed submarine deal has permanently clouded relations between France and the USA. For Paris, the crisis is a signal to further emancipate itself from its partner.
The broken submarine deal between France and Australia creates a profound diplomatic crisis. After the Australian government announced on Wednesday that it would rather buy the US nuclear-powered submarines than the conventional submarines from France, as agreed, Paris ordered its ambassadors to the US and Australia back on Friday evening.
The termination of the 56 billion euro deal was a “stab in the back,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. The top diplomat in France does not mince his words: it is an extremely “brutal” US approach that reminds him of Donald Trump, explained Le Drian.
French Foreign Minister Le Drian is disappointed in the United States
Image: AFP
He made it clear how deeply disappointed the French government is in its “oldest ally, the USA”, who, without informing France, formed the new AUKAS security alliance with the Australians. This is an unacceptable behavior on the part of close partners, stressed Le Drian.
Paris does not recognize declaration
According to the Australian government, the fact that the deal cannot take place because the French submarines are diesel-powered and that this is a disadvantage when used against the Chinese nuclear submarines is considered an advanced argument in Paris. Because if desired, nuclear technology could also have been supplied. Rather, President Emanuel Macron has to state that with President Joe Biden in the White House, the tectonic plates of diplomacy have shifted in favor of Washington.
The new security alliance between Australia, the USA and, as a junior partner, Great Britain is shaking the French strategy in the Indo-Pacific. There they wanted to form a very visible bulwark against China’s interests on the side of Australia – and at the same time show that France, as a European player, has weight in the global battle of strength between the USA and China.
Another signal for emancipation from the USA
The question raised by Macron, whether the EU should emancipate itself more strongly from its partner USA and also become more militarily independent, has acquired a new urgency with the broken deal – according to the French interpretation.
While the French embassy in Washington also canceled a long-planned gala last night to express the outrage in the Elysée, both the US and Australia tried to send conciliatory signals to Paris. Both underlined that they wanted to continue working closely with France in the Pacific.
But Paris feels betrayed. One now has a very precise idea of what Washington thinks of its partners in Europe, an Elysee insider told the AFP news agency.
Dispute over failed submarine deal – Paris calls back ambassadors from the USA and Australia
Julia Borutta, ARD Paris, September 18, 2021 1:49 p.m.