Thread by @morcos_pierre

Worth-reading interview of French foreign minister @JY_LeDrian on #AUKUS. Some highlights bellow 👇
ouest-france.fr/politique/jean…

"The recall of our Ambassadors is a serious act. We want clarifications and explanations. At this stage, no date has been set for their return."

"The subject is not just the termination of an arms contract. Above all, it calls for serious reflection on the very conception we have of alliances, and on the type of strategy we want to develop in the Indo-Pacific. This goes beyond a single industrial relationship."

"What has happened is a breach of trust. An alliance that works is one where the partners are respected and where a shared strategy is put in place."

"The joint [Australian-US-UK] declaration is part of an Indo-Pacific strategy that prioritizes confrontation, even military confrontation."

"Our logic, and that of Europe - which was the one we were also developing with the Australians - is to develop an Indo-Pacific strategy which proposes to all the actors in the Indo-Pacific an alternative model to the Chinese model."

"We are on a different model. We do not underestimate the extent of the competition with China but we avoid prioritizing a military confrontation, so as to bring together in our strategy all the countries that are willing to join us."

"On Monday evening, I will discuss this issue with my 26 European colleagues in New York. Many European countries have told us of their shock."

"I am going to meet my Indian colleague Jaishankar. I will also be meeting with my Indonesian colleague. Finally, I suppose we will cross paths with Secretary Blinken, but there are no appointments planned at this stage."