Macron to hold call with US President Biden

Published at 05:19 pm September 19th, 2021

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on a National Security Initiative virtually with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, inside the East Room at the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2021 Reuters

Macron will ask the US president for "clarification" after the announcement of a US-Australian-British defence pact

French President Emmanuel Macron will have a call with US President Joe Biden in the next few days, the French government spokesman said on Sunday, amid a diplomatic crisis triggered by Australia's cancellation of submarine contract with Paris.

France said on Friday it was recalling its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra over a trilateral security deal also involving Britain which sank the multi-billion-dollar order for French submarines.

"President Biden asked to speak to the President of the Republic and ther will be a telephone discussion in the next few days between President Macron and President Biden," Gabriel Attal told news channel BFM TV.

France would be seeking "clarification" over the cancellation of a submarine order, Attal said.

The scrapping of the contract, struck in 2016, has caused fury in Paris, which claims not to have been consulted by its allies. The Australian government, however, says it had made clear its concerns for months.

After the initial "shock" of the cancellation, discussions would need to take place over contract clauses, notably compensation for the French side, Attal added.