'We can't go on as if it was business as usual': France turns down meeting with Trade Minister

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Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan pleads with his French counterpart to 'work through' tensions between the nations, after France's Trade Minister turns down an offer to meet in Paris next month.

"There's an open invitation for me to sit down with my French counterpart and be able to explain the decision — a decision that was taken in our national interest which was about protecting our sovereignty, our security — and I would be able to sit down and work through that with my counterpart.""We won't follow up the Australian minister's request for a meeting. We can't go on as if it was business as usual," the French official said.

When asked about the rejection, an optimistic Mr Tehan remained hopeful the pair could sit down and discuss the issue. "When I saw that report, what I did was I spoke to our ambassador in Paris and just said, 'Please, just extend that invitation — it's an open invitation — I'd be more than willing to sit down and talk to our counterpart and work through this issue,'" he said.

 

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Relax everyone. According to the IMF there is a 3 year surplus of champagne, bottled snails, inflatable mistresses/significant others & white flags. It will have blown over by then.

Have the French come out and explained why they were already behind the schedule with their subs and way over budget already?

F**king discussing the way we have treated not only the French over this from the start, but the whole fiasco is a sad sick joke

It’s really a lesson to PM. What would you expect from president France, smiling and says it’s ok?

So no more goodwill for helping liberate France?

DocWSJames

Too bad so sad .

I think they should kick the Australian ambassador out. There is no longer a need for france to host one.

You can’t blame France we broke a contract that we made with them. This might have a bigger negative impact on future trade with the EU and other nations as we have shown that we can’t be trusted. We can’t afford to upset too many more trading partners surely

A Ministerial meeting is hardly the way to start reconciliation with France. It starts at a diplomatic level and requires nuance snd understanding. Again our politicians are so egotistical they think that everything starts with them. Trust the Public Service you fools.

Awkward....

morrisonsclusterfuck

We have been like a spoilt child.

Between this and the warmongering ScottyDoesDiplomacy is doing re. China, Australia is in for a whole world of hurt unless we abolish LNP from the political realm at the upcoming election. God hope Albo, Penny and KRudd can fix this mess 🤦‍♀️

Gosh….didn’t see THAT coming

Signing the subs deal with the US was the smartest thing this government ever did . Its like a slap to Macron's face 😂

Who cares, it’s done.

Who would want to talk to Danny boy anyway?

The French have taken the correct action over this issue. One, can never have any trust in this Morrison Government, going forward.

JaneCaro Diplomacy, the Morrison way.

Let's get realistic here. French technology is shit, our wines and cheeses are superior, we saved them from German invasion in WW2, they didn't give a shit about us when they nuked the Pacific, and they blocked our Pfizer delivery - why the fuck do we care if they're miffed?

Treat France with care as they are getting fragile easily. Lady France 🇫🇷, kiss my 🍑!

This government is so flawed vote them out...all of them

Hey DanTehanWannon you genius, I bet the trade talks with the EU will just be business as usual.

Tehan is tone deaf.Out of his depth

They are very discerning. The guy is a goose

Ouch … welcome to world of accountability. The French don’t read the Herald Sun.

Dan still scores the frequent flyer points and gets a holiday in Paris

Actions, meet consequences.

Fancy sending that plonker on a mission to mend fences !

Got their noses throughly out of joint! Poor French people-can't handle somebody's changing their mind-boohoo! 😭🐊

nothing_exists Maybe Tehan can send them a text message?

😂

Our economy is going south thanks to our current government

China gone France gone Trump gone Johnson will be gone When scott leaves the pm will inherit the biggest mess ever thanks to msm

How incompetent to think you can simply turn up as if nothing had occurred. This shows how unprofessional Aust is.

Woopie doo…who cares

Can everyone please go out and buy a Peugeot or Renault and mate the French happy again. The submarines would've been as reliable as their cars

This is the only thing thats made me happy today.

So did Tehan actually fly over there?

Tehan and Pauline Hanson have the same IQ and speech therapist.😊

International relations ... not a strong point of our fuckwit government, is it?

Australia can't be bullied by France or EU. There are countries in EU whose entire economy is based on sale of military equipments and weapons. Australia has exercised its right of exit clause. Why should we be apologetic?

Tehan is useless.

France government doesn’t suck like Australian government do. If people upset snakes they know the answers. Good luck trade ministers keep ringing your mobile.

Australia should review all defence business contracts with France. Put them on notice where there are time and cost overruns. Let them know Australia means business.

If Australia had broached the nuclear powered subs as a must then could’ve either worked with France or Tsken Trumps US deal for which Morrison was given a medal of honour

Every country has right to defend their interests and must be forefront on their decision.

Australia could end the contract - that is not in question. France doesn’t like it but like any contractor they lost the job. People bagging the Gov would bag them if they didn’t and we got subs that didn’t do what we needed. Labor agrees also.

I don't think that we need to worry about France and their Politics. Their history will repeat itself again and again. They'll stop whinging and move on to something else and eventually kiss and make up.

Morrison and co thought they could get away with lack of integrity, however that only applies at home !

Probably nothing to do with the subs, more likely they have a thing about talking to halfwits.

funny thought that would happen did he fly to France

Every Australian life spent on French soil was a horrific waste.

bubblytest Another waste of public money!!!!

Tehan you fuck up everything with Morrison in charge , so why are you surprise ?

WilsonSaira Who has a trade meeting with a country that cancelled a $90bil dollar deal via text?!

To be fair, I would too

I think that the time to try & explain a change of heart about the sub contract would have been before tearing it up! They are more upset about the manner in which it was done than the fact it came to be, and rightfully so. Not integrity, no honesty, no spine, total duplicity.

JaneCaro What did this government expect they couldn't run a chook raffle

Morrison has shown the world he can’t be trusted . Getting a medal from Trump says it all

Don’t worry our OM can always make it worse, he has a talent for non negotiating

Punitive trade sanctions from the Chinese Communist Party and punitive trade sanctions from the French Government? Australia is better off without them both. Submarines auspoI

France reminding Australia it does not sit at the big boys table as the world watches.

ABC - it was the way it was reneged on they are furious about. Now Australia wants to 'explain' it to the French. The Ozzie pollies are culturally tone deaf & that's not going to change anytime soon. An admission of poor & wrong behaviour on Australia's part would be a start.

Because the government is a useless but of swinging d..ks

French are behaving like a scorned lover

Hey Australia …. You’ve been ‘dropped’ ! Just like back in the school days

I feel France had some sort of an ulterior motive behind building the subs for us. Why else would they get so upset in losing the contract? Good riddance I think. Can't trust someone with the defence of a nation when you can't trust them in a business transaction.

Anglos, even if bred on my land, feuding with the French is nothing new!

Who knows what is happening in the background, wondering if the public outrage by France is more for local political spin, gotta be seen to be doing something. ?🤷‍♀️

Is anyone surprised?

How sore can the French be! I commend the Morrison government for their decisions here. Sorry France but the stable defence and protection of Australia in the Indo-Pacific is a bit more important than keeping a realistically dud deal.

French tantrum for sure, but if Dan Tehan asked to meet with me for 2 hours in Paris, I also would be hard to reach.

Excellent, I hope they double lock the door, use the security chain and ignore him because he’s a shameful embarrassment. No one with a smidgen of experience would imagine he could achieve anything anyway. ElectionNOW

va te faire foutre Tehan

Oh

5 years into a deal & this gov cancels & doesn't tell the contractor... that behaviour would bankrupt a company...you made a powerful country hate you but they don't hate Australians generally. We need a gov with integrity.

Morrison, Dutton, Payne & Tehan must feel so proud! This is their achievement!

President of US forgets 🇦🇺PMs name, China and France won’t return his calls…😣

The Oz are so fked!

JaneCaro I don't blame France at all. What the hell did he expect?

What’s that now? Like 2 countries in the top 67 GDP that won’t take our calls? Coooool

No Tehan croissants for Dan then

Since WWII only two sub actions in the last 70 years was the sinking of the General Belgrano in 1982 and Pakistan's Khukhi in 1971 Good value? 3 US factories produce 1 sub a year each. So build another shipyard and the world will beat a seaway to your submarines.

It’s because Scott Morrison is as useless as a screen door on a nuclear submarine. How hard is it to phone Macron to discuss the planned cancellation of the French Submarine contract days earlier. He seemed to be capable of ringing everyone for Mathias Cormann’s OECD role. 😡

Well ScottyTheBackStabber was over there with Biden and Macron, why couldn't he make a time to have a chat and discuss why he shit on them and cancelled the subs?

Seriously, can you blame them? They were lied to for months. At least the French have got a taste of the lies and deceit Australian’s have endured under this incompetent government! auspol

robynjo14287916 We are getting exactly what we deserve.

Who cares

Buy the French units as well , up grade to nuke and move . Incompetent states , VIC & NSW costing the tax payer so much money with Covid fiasco, $90 billion is going look like small change, when we come out the other side of covid.CHRISTINE HOLGATE has nothing on this shocker!

LNP diplomacy...

Trust issue.

What does this government after such poor treatment of France. How bone-headed can the cialition be?

That means the French will co-opiate they have spit the dummy like a spoilt child other nations could have purchased the subs and they sill could be built and finished and delivered.

Who would want to meet with this nobody?

Clearly this country needs K. Rudd to go and represent our interests the Libs don’t have a States-person amongst them 🤷‍♂️

Betrayal of trust is one of the hardest things to overcome. It is likely France will never trust any proposal from Australia ever again.

Well that went well...

France is hidden partner of AUKUS So what

'Good economic managers'

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