Le Drian Announces Return of French Ambassador to Australia
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says that the French Ambassador, who will return to Australia will have two main tasks regarding the relationship between the two countries.
-
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian
On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced that the French Ambassador to Australia will return to Canberra after he was summoned to Paris after Australia canceled a submarine contract with France.
The French Foreign Minister told Parliament he had "now asked our ambassador to return to Canberra with two objectives: helping to define our relationship with Australia in the future... and firmly defend our interests in the implementation of Australia's decision to terminate the submarine program."
AUKUS alliance
The relationship between the two countries soured in mid-September after Washington announced the formation of a strategic security alliance in the Indo-Pacific region, namely the AUKUS alliance, which includes the US, UK, and Australia.
This involved Australia canceling a submarine deal it had concluded with France, a move that Paris dubbed a "stab in the back." Consequently, France decided to recall its ambassadors to the United States and Australia on the 17th of September.
