Frigate Naval Group to Greece, here are the maneuvers of France and the United States
Agreement between Paris and Athens for the sale of three Naval Group Fdi frigates: all the behind-the-scenes maneuvers of the United States and France according to the reconstruction of the French newspaper La Tribune
In the tender for the Greek frigates, there was a before and after with respect to the Australian submarine crisis between France and the United States.
This is underlined by the reconstruction of the French newspaper La Tribune by Michel Cabirol: “Behind the scenes, a negotiation emerges between Greece and France for the sale of three Fdi frigates” of Naval Group.
We recall that on 28 September the French President Emmanuel Macron and the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis signed a military contract for the order by Athens of three Fdi frigates (plus an optional one) as part of the strengthening of the strategic "partnership". between France and Greece.
The announcement comes after the cancellation of a 55 billion euro contract by Australia , which preferred a strategic partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom.
A hard blow for the French naval giant and the Macron government . The Future Submarine Program involved the manufacture of 12 submarines (Naval Group), equipped with the weapon system (Lockheed Martin). The first submarine was supposed to enter service in 2034 and the last one in the early 2050s.
After the debacle of the Australian submarines, the export activity for the transalpine group Naval Group resumes. In Athens, France will sell 3 “Belharra” frigates, 4,600-ton boats over 120 meters in length, equipped with state-of-the-art radars designed by Thales.
Athens had launched in 2020 a tender for four frigates and the renewal of its Hydra frigates. The French Naval Group therefore beat the competition: the American Lockheed Martin and the Europeans Damen and Fincantieri.
According to La Tribune , "If Washington has so far blocked the international tender for the modernization of the Greek navy rather well, Paris has managed to put a foot in the door to win."
All the details.
MACRON'S ACTIVISM
The acquisition by Greece of Rafale fighter planes and now of three Belharra frigates that will be built in France, in Lorient, is "a testimony of confidence and demonstration of the quality of the French offer", Emmanuel Macron told the Elysée after the signature.
This deal has allowed France to recover from the Australian submarine crisis and come out of it with its head held high, La Tribune points out. But at the center is the wise direction of President Macron according to Cabirol: "The president felt that there was a blow to play against the United States and launched an operation, which could in part erase the cruel disappointment generated by the loss of the contract. of Australian submarines (between 8 and 15 billion euros flown for Naval Group) ".
THE HOPES OF NAVAL GROUP
Prior to the cancellation of the Australian submarine contract, no one believed in a Naval Group victory in the Hellenic Navy race, La Tribune points out. Despite the fact that for the French shipbuilding group, winning this order was vital for the production load of the Lorient site.
According to the Tribune "at the time the United States and its champion Lockheed Martin were pulling the strings in Athens, which legitimately needs American power to arbitrate the numerous conflicts between Turkey and Greece, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean".
THE MANEUVERS OF WASHINGTON WITH ATHENS
On the other hand, Cabirol recalls in the French daily, “Washington had already fully played its role as arbiter in the region at the expense of France. According to our information, Washington derailed a contract between Naval Group and Athens in July 2020. Three days before the signing of a contract for two Fdi frigates armed with MdCN cruise missiles, the United States banned this acquisition from Greece. They had already tried to impose Lockheed Martin ”.
“On the other hand, Athens quickly expressed its desire to buy Rafale (18, of which 12 second-hand) but launched an international tender for the modernization of its combat fleet to involve American industrialists. Lockheed Martin, very well established in Athens, participates in it by offering a frigate derived from the LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) of the Navy ”reconstructed La Tribune .
Furthermore, in mid-September Mitsotakis had already announced the surprise purchase of six French Rafale fighters, as well as a previous contract worth 2.5 billion euros, signed in January.
THE FRENCH COMEBACK
For France, everything accelerates after the call on 22 September between Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden. "Six days after the start of the submarine crisis, the two heads of state have announced" commitments "to restore the hard-hit confidence, the US president now hopes for a" return to normal ", recalls La Tribune .
The way out of the crisis between France and the United States will take "time" and will require "acts", French diplomacy chief Jean-Yves Le Drian told his American counterpart Antony Blinken on 23 September in an interview. bilateral in New York.
It would have been difficult for the US to torpedo a French bid again, La Tribune points out .
The context is ideally favorable to the comeback of Paris in Greece. And here is that “The Naval Group's offer has finally conquered the Greek government” wrote the Usine Nuovelle on 28 September. “Greece consoles France from the Australian fiasco”, headlines Les Echos.
The agreement signed with Athens "contributes to protecting the security, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of our two states, while promoting security, stability and prosperity in the regions of common interest", assured Macron. .
However, the last word has not yet been said. As Cabirol notes, Paris and Athens have three months to strengthen the agreement and then sign a definitive contract for the three Fdi frigates of Naval Group.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/fregate-naval-group-alla-grecia-tutte-le-manovre-di-francia-e-stati-uniti/ on Wed, 13 Oct 2021 10:11:16 +0000.