Macron makes it clear that French fury isn’t ebbing after Australia cancelled the submarine order in favour of a new defence pact with US and UK
The French Embassy is seen after it was announced France decided to recall its ambassadors in the US and Australia for consultations after Australia struck a deal with the US and Britain which ended a French-designed submarine deal, in Washington, US, on September 17 2021. Picture: REUTERS/GERSHON PEAKS
US President Joe Biden reached out to speak to Macron by phone in the coming days. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared to simply brush it all off, saying on Thursday that relations with France were “rock solid” while Australia’s Scott Morrison doesn’t seem in any mood to make amends. His ideas on reducing European reliance on US and Nato aren’t new — he once called the alliance “ brain dead” — and may not get much traction. Leaders in Eastern Europe and the Baltics are sceptical of any move that would reduce the American presence in a region where they feel threatened by Russia. Germany is nearing an election and coalition talks that might go into next year.
France has important interests in the Pacific and Indian oceans, with some 2-million citizens and thousands of soldiers spread across several French islands, including New Caledonia and Reunion. Like the US and Australia, it’s wary of an emboldened China and has always seen itself as a key player in the region.
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