WASHINGTON — France recalled its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia in a sign of its frustration over a lost submarine contract with Sydney that France’s foreign minister said was like being “stabbed in the back.”
It’s a stunning move for America’s oldest ally and a sign of how frustrated officials in Paris are over what they said was a surprise move that cost the nation at $66 billion submarine deal.
“At the request of the President of the Republic, I have decided to immediately recall our two ambassadors to the United States and Australia to Paris for consultations,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement released by France’s Embassy in the U.S.
The decision by normally close allies to snub France constitutes “unacceptable behavior between allies and partners, the consequences of which affect the very conception we have of our alliances, our partnerships and the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe,” according to the statement.
