Emmanuel Macron tells Scott Morrison 'trust was broken' after submarine deal cancellation

French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken with Prime Minister Scott Morrison for the first time since the cancellation of the submarine deal. Macron on Thursday, October 28, had a telephone conversation with Morrison, Elysee Palace said in a statement. During the phone call, President Macron told Morrison that they broke the "relationship of trust" between France and Australia.

"President Macron recalled that Australia’s unilateral decision to scale back the French-Australian strategic partnership by putting an end to the ocean-class submarine programme in favour of another as-yet unspecified project broke the relationship of trust between our two countries," Elysee Palace said in the statement.  

French President called on the Australian Prime Minister to propose some measures that need to be taken in order to reshape the bilateral relations between the two nations, the Elysee Palace said in the statement. The French President recalled Australia's decision to scrap the submarine deal in the wake of the AUKUS security pact between the United States, Australia and Britain. 

"It is now up to the Australian Government to propose tangible actions that embody the political will of Australia’s highest authorities to redefine the basis of our bilateral relationship and continue joint action in the Indo-Pacific," Elysee Palace said in the statement.  

During the phone call, the two leaders discussed the situation of the French businesses and their subcontractors, including Australian companies, affected by the cancellation of the deal. In the call, which came ahead of the G20 summit in Rome and COP26 in Glasgow, the French President urged the Australian Prime Minister to adopt measures in line with climate change. He also called on Morrison to commit to halting production and use of coal in Australia and abroad, the Elysee Palace said in a statement.

Australia-France relations

Australia backed out of the French submarine deal due to a trilateral security partnership "AUKUS" between the US, UK and Australia. Under this trilateral security partnership called AUKUS, Australia would acquire a nuclear-powered submarine. Soon after the multibillion-dollar submarines deal was dropped by the Australian side, France recalled its ambassadors from Australia, according to AP. Earlier this month, Morrison welcomed the decision of French authorities to return its ambassador to Australia. 

(With inputs from AP)

(Image: AP)