Macron expects ‘concrete measures’ from Biden call to rebuild trust
8:44 am Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021
PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron will expect “concrete measures” from the United States to restore trust when he holds a call with U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday, said Macron’s office.
Last week, France recalled its ambassadors from the United States and Australia, after the United States and Britain signed a nuclear submarine deal with Australia, causing Australia to scrap a previous $40 billion French-designed submarine deal.
Macron’s office added that the French president expected Biden to recognise, during their call, that consultations with allies should have been held before the decision was made over the submarines, and that the United States had to recognise the need for European sovereignty.
France’s decision to remove its ambassador from Washington was the first time Paris had acted in such a way.
The rare decision taken by French President Emmanuel Macron was made due to the “exceptional gravity” of the matter, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said last Friday.
On Tuesday, Germany joined France in berating the United States for negotiating the security pact in secret with Australia and Britain, while the EU’s top official said such behaviour was unacceptable.
(Reporting by Michel Rose, Elizabeth Pineau, Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Jon Boyle, Alexandra Hudson)
