French President Emmanuel Macron will speak in the coming days with President Joe Biden in their first contact since a major diplomatic crisis erupted between France and the United States over a submarine deal with Australia, an official said Sunday.
The phone call is at the request of Biden, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said, adding that there was �shock� and �anger� at first in France over news of the deal. But now it�s time to try to move forward, he said.
What the French now call a �grave crisis� erupted over the sudden, surprise end to a 2016 contract worth at least $66 billion between France and Australia to build 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines. Instead, Australia signed on with the United States and Britain for eight nuclear-powered submarines. France insists it was not informed of the deal in advance.
France recalled its ambassadors from the United States and Australia in a sign of the seriousness of the crisis.
�What�s at play in this affair, this crisis � are strategic issues before being commercial issues,� Attal said in an interview on BFMTV. �The question is … the forces present, the balance, in the Indo-Pacific where part of our future is at play, and our relations with China.�
The deal by the United States reflects the American pivot toward the Indo-Pacific region, seen as increasingly strategic as China bolsters its influence there. Yet France feels the deal steps on its feet in a region where it has long had a strong presence that it, too, is working to bolster, in addition to a five-year contract with Australia.
�France is a country of the Indo-Pacific,� Attal said, noting the French territory of New Caledonia, the French citizens living in the region and the French military forces based there.
The Indo-Pacific is also an issue for Europe, he said.
Macron will be seeking explanations from Biden about what led to a �major rupture in confidence,� the spokesman added. �There was a moment of shock, of anger … Now, we must advance.�
On Friday night, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian railed against what France views as a betrayal marked by �duplicity, disdain and lies.�
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday that France �would have had every reason to know that we have deep and grave concerns� about the capability of France�s Attack class subs, which he said can�t meet Australia�s strategic interests.
(AP)
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Instead, Australia signed on with the United States and Britain So can someone explain to me why France recalled it French Ambassador from Australia & USA? nut not from Britain? Something is defying logic??