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The UN General Assembly opens on Tuesday against the backdrop of the submarine crisis that sparked an altercation between France, on one side, and Australia, the United States and Britain from the ‘other. The surprise absence of French President Emmanuel Macron, a self-proclaimed champion of multilateralism, has raised eyebrows – and questions about the extent of the feud to erode old friendships and further divide NATO.
Unlike last year’s event, which was entirely virtual, this year delegations from all over the world will travel to UN Headquarters in New York, while others will attend via video link.
Around a hundred heads of state and government will speak at the assembly, which is being held under strict sanitary conditions.
France’s presence will be minimal. Macron chose to send Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian to speak on behalf of the country in a pre-recorded video message.
France in last place
If Macron had participated – even virtually, as planned – France would have been among the countries that began to present their positions on geopolitical affairs at the world’s largest diplomatic gathering.
Hot issues for debate include political upheaval in Afghanistan, climate change and the Iran nuclear deal, with President Joe Biden delivering his first major speech at the UN since entering the White House in January.
Because UN protocol requires lower-ranking diplomats to be heard last in the speech schedule, Le Drian’s video will be shown on the last day of the assembly.
The last time a French president did not represent France at the UN was 17 years ago, in 2005. At the time, the then Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, had been called upon to replace President Jacques Chirac, ill and unable to travel.
“Shocking gesture”
While the Elysee Palace said Macron’s absence was unrelated to the fallout from the submarine, France clearly expressed its fury by recalling its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra shortly after the announcement of the alliance – known as the Aukus -.
“There is duplicity, contempt and lies,” Le Drian told France 2 television. “You can’t be part of alliances like that.”
Summoning the ambassadors – which has never happened in Franco-American-Australian history – was a “shocking gesture” that the The world Quotidien declared its aim to “formalize the feeling of betrayal felt by Paris” at the loss of what has been described as “the contract of the century”.
However, Paris did not recall its ambassador from London, with an anonymous French diplomat saying The world: “We did not need … because there is nothing more to clarify with the British. We already know they were opportunists in this deal. ”
Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers this week expressed solidarity with France over Australia’s cancellation of the € 56 billion order for submarines.
Indo-Pacific dilemma
Speaking after a closed-door meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations Assembly, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, warned that “more cooperation, more coordination and less fragmentation” was needed to ensure the Indo-Pacific region, where China’s influence rises, has remained peaceful.
For reference, the Indo-Pacific is the new name the United States, under former President Donald Trump, has given to the Asia-Pacific region.
Critics cited in French media have warned that Macron’s absence would give the United States more airtime to promote its confrontational approach to China.
“Macron would certainly have wanted to promote an alternative strategy,” reports Carrie Nooten, RFI correspondent in New York, adding that the British and Australian Prime Ministers have occupied a large media space at the UN since Monday.
Although in New York, Le Drian has no plans to meet with his counterpart, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. However, Australian and British Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson will both have talks with Biden.
“Submarine deal made Macron more lonely,” French political scientist Dominique Moisi said The New York Times, adding that Macron had always insisted on a united, stronger and more autonomous Europe.
“We are right, but we are alone. Historians can see this as a turning point.”
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