Macron Suspected Submarine Deal Was on the Rocks Before AUKUS Pact, Leaked Text Suggests

The AUKUS trilateral deal between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia that undermined a French submarine deal with Canberra caused a rift in France's relations with the three countries. Yet, despite apologies by US President Joe Biden, the drama appears to be going nowhere.

In June, French President Emmanuel Macron texted his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, that he "[doesn't] like losing" when Canberra first hinted that it was looking for alternatives to the French submarines, the Australian Financial Review has reported.

Then, in September, days before the AUKUS pact was announced, Macron messaged Morrison again, wondering: "Should I expect good or bad news for our joint submarines ambitions?"

A day before announcing the trilateral deal, Morrison tried to call Macron, but the latter would not pick up - apparently because he "knew what it was about", the report suggests, citing federal government officials.

The new details surrounding the AUKUS drama suggest that Macron was not sincere when he claimed he was blindsided by the cancelled submarine deal with Australia. Yet, the French president accused Morrison of dishonesty earlier in the week, when he was asked whether the Australian PM lied to him about the deal.

"I don't think, I know", Macron replied. "I have a lot of respect for your country, a lot of respect and friendship for your people. I just say when we have respect, you have to be true, and you have to behave in line and consistent with this value".

Morrison described Macron's words as "slurs", vehemently denying that he ever lied to his French counterpart.

The Australian PM recalled the June dinner.

"We had dinner together. I explained very clearly that the conventional submarine option was not going to meet Australia's interests", he said.

Still, Paris has repeatedly described the AUKUS announcement as a "stab in the back" that occurred out of the blue. In order to try and make up for the fallout in relations, US President Joe Biden apologised to Macron when the two met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome.

"I think what happened was — to use an English phrase, what we did was 'clumsy'", Biden said. "It was not done with a lot of grace. I was under the impression certain things had happened that hadn't happened".

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the G20 summit in Rome, Italy October 29, 2021.

© REUTERS / KEVIN LAMARQUE

According to Biden, he "honest to God" thought that Paris was aware that the submarine deal with Australia was no longer a go when the AUKUS pact was introduced.

Apologies from Washington appeared to have been welcomed by Macron, who said that he and his American counterpart had "clarified together what we had to clarify", noting that what is "important is to be sure that such a situation will not be possible for our future".

AUKUS Deal

The trilateral defence pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia envisaged, in part, that Canberra would receive nuclear-powered submarines within the AUKUS framework. This ditched the earlier multi-million dollar deal between France and Australia on the delivery of diesel-powered submarines.

The cancellation of the deal prompted fury in France, with Paris recalling its ambassadors from Australia and the United States. However, in early October, French Ambassador to the US Philippe Etienne returned to Washington.