Subs deal row: France-Australia relationship to be reassessed says French ambassador

France’s ambassador to Australia says his mission when he returns to Canberra will be to reassess every aspect of the bilateral relationship.

France’s ambassador to Australia has branded the federal government’s surprise cancellation of the Attack-class submarines as “childish”, and declared he will reassess every aspect of the bilateral relationship when he returns to Canberra.

A day after his return to Australia was announced, Jean-Pierre Thebault said the crisis of trust between the countries was a long way from being resolved.

He said the French-designed submarines – cancelled in favour of US or British nuclear-powered boats – were only one aspect of the nations’ broader political and security partnership that had been ratified by the Australian parliament.

“Cancelling all of that without any warning, without any previous discussion, without any minimum decency of talking with your ally, is creating a deep crisis,” Mr Thebault told ABC radio.

“I have clear instructions, strong instructions, and we will have to revise everything.

“We have to discover if those words were empty. What was true? What is still real?”

Mr Thebault said trust and confidence were not “not something you throw away when it is convenient”.

“Trust is something you build,” he said. “Trust is something you create through your own actions. What you do and the way you do the thing speaks volumes about who you are. And now the question is – who are you? Our partner? Our friend?”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the secrecy of Australia’s decision, which was planned for up to 18 months, saying it was necessary to prevent the scuttling of the AUKUS agreement with the US and the UK.

But Mr Thebault said it was “childish to say that it was impossible to consult France” before the announcement of the new security pact.

“If you don’t want to take my word, OK. Take the words of President Biden. Take the word of Secretary of State Blinken,” Mr Thebault said, referencing the US’s rapid efforts to make amends with France by conceding the matter could have been handled better.

Mr Thebault was recalled to Paris in mid-September following Australia’s shock cancellation of the Attack-class submarines, and is preparing to return to Australia in coming weeks.

Mr Morrison said the government was not planning fresh initiatives to repair relations with Paris. He said making up with France would involve “basically picking up on all the things we were working on and continuing on with them”.

“It’s not a matter, frankly, of what additional things we’re putting on our co-operation. We already have co-operation,” he said.

But Mr Thebault said Australia needed to prove it would not betray France again.

“This is very serious,” he said. “We want to build for the future. We need to look at everything.

“We need to be sure that what we build is solid, and won’t be put into question once again.”