French PM vows to supervise Australian sub deal himself

Canberra/ AFP

A mega deal to build Australian submarines was so important, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday, that he pledged to personally supervise the project as Paris and Canberra bolster defence ties.
French contractor DCNS last week beat off competition from Japan and Germany to seal the 12-submarine Aus$50 billion ($39 billion) contract, prompting Valls to make a surprise visit to Canberra.
“I will supervise, myself, the implementation of our commitments with the minister of defence who will be coming shortly to Australia,” Valls told a press conference with Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull. “It is an industrial and economic partnership. It is also a partnership that binds us for a very long time on other issues, including security and defence,” he added.
Valls said it was a “win-win” deal, adding that Paris would fulfill all its commitments including job creation in Australia and the transfer of technology.
DCNS plans to build a 4,500-tonne conventionally-powered version of its 4,700 tonne Barracuda, which the company has described as “the most technically complex artefact in Australia”. The DCNS website says the new vessel would be “the recipient of France’s most sensitive and protected submarine technology and will be the most lethal conventional submarine ever contemplated”.