'Crisis of trust': France bristles at US submarine deal

France’s top diplomat says there is a “crisis of trust” in the United States after a Pacific defense deal stung France and left Europe wondering about its longtime ally across the Atlantic

PARIS -- France’s top diplomat declared Monday that there is a “crisis of trust” in the United States after a Pacific defense deal stung France and left Europe wondering about its longtime ally across the Atlantic.

European countries won’t let Washington leave them behind when shaping its foreign policy, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian added.

Speaking Monday to reporters in New York, Le Drian reiterated complaints that his country was sandbagged by the submarine deal between the U.S., Britain and Australia, which led to France losing a contract to sell subs to Australia. Washington, London and Canberra say the deal bolsters their commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, and it has widely been seen as an effort to counter an increasingly assertive China.

But Le Drian said it was a “brutal, unexpected and unexplained breach” of a contract – and a relationship.”