On May 26, French President Emmanuel Macron told his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, that he intended to rebuild frustrated ties with Canberra, as he held the first phone call with the newly sworn in prime minister. The French president reminded the Australian leader of the “serious breach of trust” that had occurred between the two countries following the cancellation of a $90 billion submarine contract and the signing by Australia of the AUKUS agreement, which Albanese asserted.
A warm and constructive conversation tonight with ???????? President @EmmanuelMacron. We discussed our commitment to a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific, our cooperation on climate and energy, and our support for Ukraine. I look forward to working together on our common priorities.
—Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 26, 2022
A diplomatic fracas ensued between Australia and France as Macron accused former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison of lying to him, and the two leaders had often made scathing statements to reporters as links between the two allies were disbanded. Australia has signed a deal to build nuclear-powered submarines with American and British technology, scrapping the multibillion-dollar French submarine program that has angered Macron.
“After acknowledging the serious breach of trust following the decision of the previous Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, to end the submarine contracts, the French President and the Australian Prime Minister have agreed to rebuild a bilateral relationship based on trust and respect (…)”, declared the Elysée.
Macron and Albanians agree to “rebuild a bilateral relationship”
The two leaders, French President Macron and the Australian Albanian agreed to “rebuild a bilateral relationship based on trust and respect to jointly overcome global challenges, foremost of which is the climate emergency, and strategic challenges in the world. ‘Indo-Pacific’, according to a statement. released by the French presidential palace on May 26. Macron had also previously congratulated the new Australian Prime Minister on his election victory. He discussed the roadmap to come, according to the press release from the Élysée.
“A roadmap will be prepared to structure this new bilateral agenda, identifying strategic cooperation between our two countries with the aim of strengthening our resilience and contributing to regional peace and security.
During Thursday’s phone call, Macron reaffirmed the “historic ties forged” between France and Australia during the First World War. He also expressed “the immense gratitude of generations of French people” for the efforts of Australian soldiers during the war, as he discussed Russia’s brutal invasion of Russia. Ukraine. “This sacrifice will never be forgotten, especially when war returns to the heart of the European continent,” he said.