It is the disclosure of an SMS from Emmanuel Macron that brutally revives diplomatic tensions between France and Australia. The Australian press unveils a message sent by the French President to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, two days before the announcement of the breach of the “contract of the century” on submarines, valued at 56 billion euros, to the detriment of France, on September 15.
“Should I expect good or bad news for our shared submarine ambitions?” wrote Emmanuel Macron to the Australian leader, in this SMS whose existence was confirmed Tuesday to LCI by the entourage of the head of state.
On the Australian side, this SMS is presented as proof that France knew, before the official announcement, that its contract on submarines was about to be terminated.
If the entourage of the Head of State has confirmed to LCI the authenticity of this telephone message, its interpretation completely diverges. For him, the SMS provides on the contrary proof that the French president was not aware of the strategic change of Australia, whose leaders were then preparing to make a deal with the United States. He also denounces an “inelegant” method on the part of the Australian government. “It is difficult to understand, because the SMS is in our favor”, adds the same source.
This disclosure of the SMS whose source would come from the entourage of Scott Morrison comes two days after a statement by Emmanuel Macron assuring that the Australian Prime Minister had “lied” about the contract. “Do you think Scott Morrison lied to you?”, asked a journalist on the sidelines of the G20. “I don’t think so, I know it”, retorted the President of the Republic, an exchange which made the rounds of the Australian media.
While tensions on this subject remain very high between France and Australia, Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden have initiated a diplomatic rapprochement in recent days, the US president having expressed his regrets about the way things happened. .