Bringing Australia back in “deal of the century,” crazy dream of the French

Wishful thinking or a possible twist? Paris back behind secret talks Aukus Alliance, three months after the announcement, the French authorities and the Naval Group cultivate a secret Trust: Australia realized that the plan at the heart of its latest alliance with the United States and Great Britain proves too complicated to realize one day, the French would return to breach of the Treaty of conventional submarines.

“Australians have shown us that we should not exclude anything and be prepared for anything with them”, Believes a businessman close to the file, even goes so far as to imagine “A new diametrically opposed face”. According to him, two parameters can come into play, which encourages the French to be on their guard in this case. On the one hand, potential Australian political changes meant that current prime minister Scott Morrison’s mid-September decision, at the expense of a partnership with France, was challenged even within his Liberal Party. His predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, did not refrain from criticising his will, condemning the abandonment of the treaty signed with the Naval Group, and the ill-fated blow done to France. Parliamentary elections are due after June 2022 next year in Australia. “If Scott Morrison can’t create a new mandate, sport can reopen”, Wants to trust this source.

Another delicate deadline ends in May 2023 of the eighteen-month period announced by the Agus alliance to review the terms of the construction of nuclear-powered submarines promised to Australia by its Anglo-Saxon allies. “This project is very complex for a non-nuclear state. It’s not just about changing fuel once every ten years in the United States. It is not excluded that the case will fail at the end of this phase of studies “, Says Our businessman. To believe it, in this hypothesis, the French, without ever stating it explicitly, would surely imagine saving what would be a “late-century” agreement”, if possible in the treaty, this time, with the United States.

Frosty relations

Unsurprisingly, French leaders remain silent on the issue. In early November, their anger with Washington subsided after a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 in Rome. However, they did not miss an opportunity to highlight the fragilities of the Agus security treaty that should answer China’s rapid rise to power and question Mr Morrison. At the end of the G20, the Australian Prime Minister asked if he thought “Liar”, Emmanuel Macron is heroic : “I don’t think so, I know that. » French authorities had condemned, at the height of the crisis “Duplicity “ From their Australian ally, who alerted Paris only on the day Agus was announced.

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