The French are on charm offensive.
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Future Submarines: French delegates visit Adelaide
FRENCH defence technology is “the best” and their submarines offer “life insurance”, the visiting head of a Senate Committee says.
A high-powered delegation of French Senators and the French Ambassador will visit Adelaide on Wednesday to talk about submarines and wine, among other topics.
In Canberra on Tuesday the President of the French Senate’s Committee on Economic Affairs, Jean-Claude Lenoir, said he chose Adelaide over Melbourne for a range of factors including our economic doldrums, the $50 billion Future Submarines project and our “outstanding” wine.
“Others wanted me to go to Melbourne,” he said.
“I believe (we) had good reasons to come to a territory where we know it’s been harshly hit by industrial developments, by restructuring, by job losses in the industry, a phenomenon that we (know) have to be the target of an active and imaginative policy.
“I am here to look into what we can compare.”
Senator Lenoir said the French company bidding for the submarines contract, DCNS, was a state-owned company, and that South Australians could be assured France had bipartisan support for building submarines.
“(And) the French technology is most certainly the best … we have a national defence force that rests on the principle of nuclear deterrent and the pillar of the nuclear deterrent is the submarine,” he said.
“Submarines are our life insurance. It is thanks to submarines that we have managed to preserve our total independence,” he said.
He said he understood Australia did not need nuclear-powered submarines.
France is one of three international partners vying to work with Australia on the submarines.
France, Germany and Japan will each have to provide three options — an onshore build, an offshore build, and a hybrid build — and the Government will then choose one of those. That choice will affect how many jobs are created in South Australia.
The delegation comprises Senator Lenoir and four of his committee colleagues and Ambassador of France to Australia Christophe Lecourtier.
They will be in South Australia for two days and will meet Premier Jay Weatherill and other ministers and will visit shipbuilders ASC and Jacob’s Creek, and discuss business and climate change.
Mr Weatherill welcomed the visit.
“What has impressed me is their understanding of the importance of sovereignty capability, which is an imperative of the French,” he said.
“They also have a corresponding willingness and capacity to transfer technology.”
The Federal Government is set to release its Defence White Paper in the coming weeks, and the competitive evaluation process will wind up at the end of the year, making an announcement of an international partner likely in the first half of next year.
They have already announced that the lucrative $20 billion Future Frigate program — for which France is also likely to bid — will be based in Adelaide.
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Oh la la.... I love the way they brought up Jacob’s Creek. Surely they haven't tried WA Margaret River's wines!
