The chief of the French diplomacy Jean-Yves Le Drian evoked this Saturday, September 18 the “serious crisis” caused by the torpedoing of a huge contract of French submarines in Canberra, denouncing a “lie, a duplicity, a major rupture of confidence ”and“ contempt ”on the part of France’s allies.
Questioned in the newspaper of France 2, Jean-Yves Le Drian thus justified the recall of the French ambassadors in Canberra and Washington by the fact that there was “a serious crisis between us”.
This measure, the first in the history of relations between Paris and Washington, “is very symbolic. There has been a lie, there has been duplicity, there has been a major breach of trust, there has been contempt so things are not right between us, ”he declared.
“We have called back our ambassadors to try to understand and to show our former partner countries that we have very strong discontent, that there is really a serious crisis between us”.
“Europe must equip itself with its strategic compass”
France had signed in 2016 a contract of 90 billion Australian dollars, or 56 billion euros, for the supply to Australia of 12 submarines with diesel propulsion, often qualified as “contract of century” because of its breadth and strategic scope.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also ruled that the crisis would weigh heavily on the definition of NATO’s new strategic concept, without however evoking any exit from the Atlantic alliance.
“But at the same time Europe must equip itself with its strategic compass and this will be under the responsibility of France in the first half of 2022”, he added, referring to the French presidency of the European Union in January 1st.