France lambasts Australia, US after 'stab in back' on subs
France on Thursday accused Australia of backstabbing and the US of Donald Trump-era behaviour, after Canberra scrapped a huge submarines deal with Paris for US-made nuclear subs.
"It's really a stab in the back. We had established a relationship of trust with Australia, this trust has been betrayed," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Info radio.
"I'm very angry today, and bitter... this is not something allies do to each other," he said, noting that Australia would now have to explain how it would exit the contract.
Le Drian also said the conduct of the administration of President Joe Biden was reminiscent of his predecessor Trump, who exasperated Europe with unpredictable decision-making.
"This unilateral, sudden and unforeseeable decision very much recalls what Mr Trump would do," Le Drian added, describing what has happened as "unacceptable" and "incomprehensible."
The White House said that US officials had held high-level talks with Paris before announcing the new contract with Australia, but a French embassy spokesman in Washington said there had been no consultations on the deal.
"We had not been informed before the first news of this deal was published in...