Europe 1 with AFP 8:01 p.m., September 24, 2021

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke by phone with Emmanuel Macron on Friday to ease tensions over the diplomatic submarine crisis.

They will "continue to work closely together" despite the high tensions raised earlier this week. 

After ten days of intense tension, Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister extended his hand to Emmanuel Macron on Friday.

Boris Johnson wanted to reassure his French counterpart despite the cold caused by the submarine crisis, the latest episode in a series of disputes between London and Paris.

"A close collaboration"

During the telephone interview, the head of the British government and the French president "reaffirmed the importance of the relationship between France and the United Kingdom and agreed to continue to work closely all over the world", according to A press release. 

Insisting that the initiative came from London, the Elysee Palace assured that Boris Johnson had expressed "his intention to re-establish cooperation between France and the United Kingdom, in accordance with our values ​​and our common interests (climate, Indo-Pacific, fight against terrorism) ". 

Cancellation of a mega-contract 

This phone call aims to pick up the pieces after the announcement of a strategic partnership between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, which resulted in the cancellation of a mega-contract for submarines French in Australia.

French diplomacy reacted strongly to this news and recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia.

>> ALSO READ:

 Who are the big losers from the submarine crisis?

"The announcement of the alliance was a shock", recalled this Friday Florence Parly, on the sidelines of a meeting in Stockholm with some of her counterparts, including a British representative.

"We are awaiting clarification" from "an ally and a European country".

Migration crisis

Boris Johnson had expressed at the beginning of the week his impatience with the sulks of his French ally, asking him in Frenglish to pull himself together and to "give him a break" or "Let me breathe".

But he adopted a more conciliatory tone on Friday, seeming to wish for an appeasement of bilateral relations, recently strained by Brexit, fishing and immigration.

Tension had already risen in early September between Paris and London over the delicate issue of record arrivals of migrants illegally crossing the Channel, which the British government had made one of its battle horses after the Brexit agreement.

According to the British press, the United Kingdom then threatened to turn back the boats and not to pay more than 60 million euros promised to finance the strengthening of the presence of the French police on the coasts, attracting accusations of "blackmail" from Paris.

Reconnect with the Americans

Between the French and the Americans it was also the diplomatic crisis, but which began on Wednesday.

A call between Emmanuel Macron and his American counterpart Joe Biden made it possible to resume the dialogue, without however fully restoring confidence, and paved the way for the return to Washington of French ambassador Philippe Etienne.

The United States on Thursday promised "acts" to overcome this crisis with France, while conceding, like Paris, that it would take "time".