United States President, Joe Biden will speak with French President, Emmanuel Macron, in the coming days amid a major diplomatic crisis between the two countries over a submarine deal with Australia.
Gatekeepers News reports that French government spokesperson, Gabriel Attal confirmed this on Sunday, saying there was “shock” and “anger” at first, but now “we must advance.”
Australia, in what the French described as a “grave crisis”, suddenly ended a 2016 contract worth at least $66bn (£48bn) with France. The deal was meant for the development of 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines.
Instead, Australia sealed a deal with the US and UK for eight nuclear-powered submarines, a move France insisted it was not informed in advance.
France withdrew its ambassadors from the US and Australia as 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. “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 US reflects the American pivot toward the Indo-Pacific region, seen as increasingly strategic as China bolsters its influence there.
According to Independent UK, 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 military forces based there.
Attal noted that the Indo-Pacific is also an issue for Europe.
The spokesperson added that Macron will be seeking explanations from Biden about what led to a “major rupture in confidence. There was a moment of shock, of anger … Now, we must advance.”
