Opinion
The French thought the subs deal was too big to fail. They were wrong
Under the AUKUS deal, the Australian government is now further away from receiving new submarines. But China’s actions forced Australia’s hand.
Andrew TillettForeign affairs, defence correspondentRight now is probably not the best time to try to wrap up the European free trade agreement.
But the petulant reaction from France’s Foreign and Defence ministers to the cancellation of the $90 billion future submarine program typifies why the French no longer made sense to be Australia’s partner of choice.
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Andrew Tillett writes on politics, foreign affairs, defence and security from the Canberra press gallery. Connect with Andrew on Facebook and Twitter. Email Andrew at andrew.tillett@afr.com
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