In their first face-to-face meeting since a submarine deal debacle caused a major rift between the US and France, President Joe Biden acknowledged to his French counterpart that the US could have handled things better.
“To use an English phrase, what we did was clumsy – not done with a lot of grace,” Biden told French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday. “I had been under the impression long before that France had been informed.”
At times, it was difficult to hear exactly what the presidents were saying in the crowded hall with cameras flashing and translators speaking alongside them.
In September, Australia, the UK, and the US announced a new trilateral security partnership that would, among other things, see Australia obtain nuclear-powered submarines with the support of the US and the UK, both of which operate very capable nuclear-powered attack submarines, to better address regional security concerns.
Not only was France not in the loop on these negotiations, but it found out only hours before the announcement that Australia was backing out of plans to purchase a dozen diesel-electric Shortfin Barracuda submarines from France, a lucrative deal worth more than $60 billion.
Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, characterized the AUKUS trilateral security partnership that appeared to upend France’s arrangements with Australia as a “stab in the back.”
