THEM’S FIGHTIN’ WORDS

Macron: ‘I Don’t Think, I Know’ Aussie PM Lied Over Submarine Deal

After a $90 billion submarine deal between the two countries was scrapped last month, the French president gave a chilly response when asked if he could ever trust Australia again.

French President Emmanuel Macron says Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, lied to him over a multibillion-dollar submarine deal between the two countries. When asked directly by a reporter at Rome’s G20 summit whether Morrison had been untruthful to him prior to abandoning the deal t0 sign a new one with the United States, Macron said, “I don’t think. I know.” Macron also indicated more work is needed to melt the frost from Australia’s scrapping of the deal in September, a move French officials decried as a “knife in the back.” Asked if he could trust Morrison now, Macron simply said, “We will see what he will deliver.” After Macron’s remarks, Morrison told reporters he had not lied and that he had previously explained that conventional submarines would no longer suit Australia’s needs.