Submarine crisis: the French Ministry of the Armed Forces prepares its counter-attack
French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly during a ceremony marking the delivery of the Barracuda-class Suffren nuclear submarines on November 6, 2020 in Toulon.
AFP - NICOLAS TUCAT
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Discussions have been initiated between Naval Groupe and the Australian authorities on possible financial compensation after the breach of the submarine contract by Canberra, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces said on Tuesday (September 21st).
The latter once again blasted the
Australian
"
betrayal
", insisting on the fact that at no time was the decision to terminate the contract with Naval Group discussed with the French authorities.
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To illustrate this “
betrayal
”, as he calls it, the Ministry of the Armed Forces is today highlighting a working document.
A memorandum dated September 15, the very day of the announcement of the Australian turnaround.
In this technical note, Australian engineers and executives from the RAN - the Royal Australian Navy - would indicate that they are validating the first phase of the Attack submarine project.
The Ministry of the Armed Forces could soon produce this document, which in its eyes reveals all the Australian duplicity.
For the Hôtel de Brienne, if Australia has turned a blind eye, it is certainly not for industrial reasons, stressing that Canberra has never opted for nuclear propulsion until then.
►
To read also:
Submarines: the situation does not calm down between France and the countries of the Aukus alliance
Doubts about the project with the Americans
Paris today seriously doubts the feasibility of the new Australian-American project.
First of all financially: a Virginia-class nuclear submarine costs three billion euros each.
And the Ministry of the Armed Forces is wondering: how could the Australians assemble them at home since they have no control over the nuclear industry?
Assembly, the French experts suspect, can only be done in the United States and with delay, they point out, since American yards are saturated with orders until 2040.
The American adventure of the Royal Australian Navy will be salty, predicts the Ministry of the Armed Forces, both for public finances and for Australian sovereignty.
►
To read also: Crisis of the Australian submarines: "We were frank, open and honest" says Canberra
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