On November 17 local time, French President Macron stated in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, that the sale of conventionally powered submarines by France to Australia is “still on the negotiation table.”
According to a French 24 TV report on November 17, since the new Australian Prime Minister Albanese came to power, France and Australia have reconciled. On September 15, 2021, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia announced the establishment of a new trilateral security partnership called “AUKUS”. The conventional submarine agreement reached by France has damaged the relationship between the two countries.
Albanese’s visit to France in July marked a new beginning in French-Australian relations, and prior to this, Australia had reached a compensation agreement of up to 555 million euros with French submarine manufacturer Naval Group.
In fact, after May of this year, when the seemingly “iron case” of Australia’s submarine program became unstable due to the inability of the United States and the United Kingdom to supply goods on schedule, it was reported that many submarine manufacturers around the world intended to “substitute”. Submarines were also heavily mentioned again.
This time, Macron personally confirmed that relevant matters are “still on the negotiating table”, indicating that Australia’s “turning back” on the submarine purchase and sale contract is still on the agenda of both France and Australia, at least the French side is not cold.