France erupts as Australia prepares to ditch $90BILLION submarine plan for a US nuclear powered fleet – complaining they have been ‘stabbed in the back’

By Charlie Coë For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 01:34 BST, 16 September 2021 | Updated: 01:52 BST, 16 September 2021


France has been ‘stabbed in the back’ by the Australian nuclear submarine deal, a former top diplomatic official has said. 

‘The world is a jungle,’ ex-ambassador to the US Gerard Araud tweeted on Monday. 

‘France has just been reminded this bitter truth by the way the US and the UK have stabbed her in the back in Australia. C’est la vie.’ 

Australia has for years been planning to build a fleet of new diesel-powered submarines in Adelaide via French company Naval Group, with the deal valued at $90billion. 

France has been 'stabbed in the back' by the Australian nuclear submarine deal, a former top diplomatic official has said. French President Emmanuel Macron with Mr Morrison at the Elysee Palace in Paris in June

France has been ‘stabbed in the back’ by the Australian nuclear submarine deal, a former top diplomatic official has said. French President Emmanuel Macron with Mr Morrison at the Elysee Palace in Paris in June

Pictured: The Sheean in Tasmania in April. Australia's landmark new deal will mean the country will walk away from a controversial deal to spend up to $90 billion buying French diesel-powered submarines

Pictured: The Sheean in Tasmania in April. Australia's landmark new deal will mean the country will walk away from a controversial deal to spend up to $90 billion buying French diesel-powered submarines

Pictured: The Sheean in Tasmania in April. Australia’s landmark new deal will mean the country will walk away from a controversial deal to spend up to $90 billion buying French diesel-powered submarines

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison reportedly held concerns Naval Group would be unable to deliver submarines until 2030 with deadline and price disputes. 

Australia will instead embrace nuclear power after decades of debate – marking the first time the US and UK have shared their nuclear submarine technology with another nation. 

More to come 

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