Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, spoke for more than an hour with Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee.
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Translate to the reassuring words in tangible commitments: This is the difficulty of the discussions between France and the United States to hope to overcome the rupture of trust aroused by the announcement, here are three weeks, from the pact Defense Aukus negotiated in the biggest secret by Washington, Canberra and London. Tuesday, October 5, Emmanuel Macron was very clear about this by receiving Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State. The French president expects concrete decisions before seeing Joe Biden, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, at the end of October, Italy.
The elysee appointment had not been announced in advance. Originally, Mr. Blinken had to meet only the diplomatic councilor of the Head of State, Emmanuel Good. The head-to-face with Mr. Macron lasted more than an hour. A representative of the White House then spoke of “very productive discussion” while considering that “a big and difficult work remains to be done” to restore confidence and develop cooperation with France. “It’s a crisis called to last, which we can only go out with acts”, insists a source close to the file. A warning addressed to those who, in the United States as in Europe, suggest in Paris to turn the page, after the resounding start of the case, on September 15, and the cancellation by Canberra of the purchase of twelve French conventional submarines.
Recognition of faults
A little earlier, Mr. Blinken had spoken with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian. Qualified discussions of “substantial” in the Minister’s entourage. Nevertheless, unlike the previous passage from Mr. Blinken to the Quai d’Orsay at the end of June, no press conference was organized at the end of their meeting: “The two ministers will speak when they will have things to announce “,” he says on the French side, like to maintain the pressure.
The objective is to concretize the main principles approved by Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron, during their remote conversation on September 22, to try to appease a blister as deep as sudden. “The Americans are not just hugging”, we want to believe in Paris, where we note that Mr. Blinken has recognized flaws in the management of the Aukus project. Three subjects are on the table: the way in which the United States can support European defense, in addition to NATO, the role of Europe, and France in particular, in the Indo-Pacific Zone, and Strengthening the US support for the anti-terrorism control in the Sahel. The French still keep their concrete requirements in public on the three major chapter heads identified by MM. Biden and macron.
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