France
Taiwan: Far from lost in translation, Macron said exactly what he meant
Returning from a trip to Beijing, President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview this week to journalists from Politico and French newspaper Les Echos. His words, especially when…
France tightens the screws in New Caledonia
New Caledonian parties are meeting in Paris this week for talks that France hopes might break a deadlock over the territory’s future. After a disputed independence referendum in…
France-Australia: Salving the wounds of AUKUS
If a week is a long time in politics, 18 months makes for a lifetime in diplomacy. That’s the time now elapsed since the “stab in the back” – words French Foreign Minister Jean…
Marles torpedoes French subs, but is yet to explain nuclear advantage
Of all the places to drop a bombshell about Australia’s quest for new submarines, could Defence Minister Richard Marles have picked a worse one than Paris? The question put to…
France can help Albanese fix AUKUS
Recently-elected Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces a dilemma on nuclear submarines. Having received only a single day’s notice, and wanting to avoid looking weak on…
The China factor in France’s growing engagement in the “peaceful sea”
In recent years, France has stepped up its Pacific engagement. In October 2020, it appointed Christophe Penot as its first ambassador for the Indo-Pacific. It released an updated…
France-Australia: Moving beyond AUKUS
The announcement of the trilateral security partnership between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia (commonly referred as AUKUS) in September last year put an end…
Australia can’t stay silent on decolonisation in the Pacific
The newly elected Albanese government has made initial steps to reset its relationship with France, ruptured by the AUKUS agreement and the cancellation of the $90 billion Naval…
The time is right for Australia to forge stronger ties with Europe
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has reminded Western Europe that security must still sometimes be guaranteed by the gun. Despite occasional glimpses of the…
How to speak green: Europe’s new energy taxonomy
It could “destroy the future of our children,” claimed Austria’s Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler. “We believe this technology is too dangerous,” said German government…