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Awkward. Fundamentally, a buyer can walk away from buying something. There's a contract and it surely has contingencies for these cases, no need for drama. Th

Awkward. Fundamentally, a buyer can walk away from buying something. There's a contract and it surely has contingencies for these cases, no need for drama. That said, it does seem like the contract was broken in a really nasty way - apparently the French were told about it mere hours before the media announcement. So the French are very angry, and possibly over-reacting, but only a little, it seems understandable. It makes sense for them to lash out at EU-wide negotiations with Australia. But of course that affects countries that had nothing to do with the whole ordeal. The cynic in me wonders if there is an element of some kind of political point-scoring by the British; Britain is on course to sign a deal with Australia. Some kind of, "see, we can do it and they can't". Worth keeping in perspective that trade with Australia is a small slice of EU's trade overall.

ElKrist 5y ago
"Fundamentally, a buyer can walk away from buying something. There's a contract and it surely has contingencies for these cases, no need for drama. That said, it does seem like the contract was broken in a really nasty way - apparently the French were told about it mere hours before the media announcement." You're right on this. Handling the end of the contract is not a big issue: the whole program is actually a series of contract and Australia simply decided to not sign the next one for the next phase. Agreeing on the exact penalties amount does not seem 100% straightforward, but the first numbers seem to be ~ 250M € However, this is a substantial contract: Australia required major customization, transfer of technology, submarines must be built on the Australian territory etc. What France is the most upset about is that they've been kept deliberately in the dark by two of its "allies" (AUS and USA), until the last moment just before the press release. As an analogy, it's like getting married, making important commitments and one day your wife says out of nowhere: "I'm out and by the way I got married with your best friend today". The same day you see pictures of them with big smiles in the press. I see in many articles things like "it's just geopolitics, France should realize there's no room for sentiments". I'm unsure how the French and Australian population feel about that, considering their joint history. This seems like a very Trump/Johnson way of handling things: pure opportunism. Perhaps it's the new sad reality and France is definitely not ready for it.
didntknowya 5y ago
also more because these aren't things you buy on a whim. there would've been whole teams on either side negotiating the deal. imagine doing that then realizing the buyer was also negotiating in bad faith with another seller behind your back.

ElKrist 5y ago

"Fundamentally, a buyer can walk away from buying something. There's a contract and it surely has contingencies for these cases, no need for drama. That said, it does seem like the contract was broken in a really nasty way - apparently the French were told about it mere hours before the media announcement." You're right on this. Handling the end of the contract is not a big issue: the whole program is actually a series of contract and Australia simply decided to not sign the next one for the next phase. Agreeing on the exact penalties amount does not seem 100% straightforward, but the first numbers seem to be ~ 250M € However, this is a substantial contract: Australia required major customization, transfer of technology, submarines must be built on the Australian territory etc. What France is the most upset about is that they've been kept deliberately in the dark by two of its "allies" (AUS and USA), until the last moment just before the press release. As an analogy, it's like getting married, making important commitments and one day your wife says out of nowhere: "I'm out and by the way I got married with your best friend today". The same day you see pictures of them with big smiles in the press. I see in many articles things like "it's just geopolitics, France should realize there's no room for sentiments". I'm unsure how the French and Australian population feel about that, considering their joint history. This seems like a very Trump/Johnson way of handling things: pure opportunism. Perhaps it's the new sad reality and France is definitely not ready for it.

didntknowya 5y ago

also more because these aren't things you buy on a whim. there would've been whole teams on either side negotiating the deal. imagine doing that then realizing the buyer was also negotiating in bad faith with another seller behind your back.