The French ambassador to Australia: The submarine deal included the transfer of highly classified data

The French ambassador to Australia, Jean-Pierre Thibault, says Canberra acted deceitfully when it suddenly canceled a multi-billion dollar contract with Paris to build a fleet of submarines. He explained that the agreement was not just to provide submarines, but included the transmission of highly classified data.

France's ambassador to Australia, Jean-Pierre Thibault, said on Wednesday that Canberra had "behaved deceitfully" when it abruptly canceled a multi-billion dollar contract with Paris to build a fleet of submarines.

"The deception was deliberate... and because it was more than just providing submarines, as it was a joint agreement on sovereignty and involved the transmission of highly classified data, the way it was handled was a stab in the back," he told media in Canberra.

Australia in September scrapped an agreement with France's Naval group to make conventional submarines, opting instead to build 12 nuclear-powered submarines in a deal with the United States and Britain.

The decision caused a major dispute between the two countries, as a result of which France recalled its ambassadors from Australia and the United States. Tibow returned to Canberra last month, and on Wednesday his speech was the first time he had publicly addressed bilateral relations.

"Those things don't happen between partners, not even between friends," Thibault said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had lied to him about Canberra's intentions.

Morrison denied this claim, and said he had previously made it clear to Macron that conventional submarines no longer met Australia's needs.

Morrison and Macron spoke last week, and the Australian leader sought to shake hands with the French president publicly at the G-20 summit in Rome at the weekend.

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that the handling of the new deal was "clumsy," adding that he believed France had been told to cancel the contract before the tripartite deal was announced.