France's Fury Goes Beyond Subs

choi

Sylvie Kauffmann, France's Fury Goes Beyond Subs; The US and Britain are upending the French Indo-Pacific strategy. New York Times, Sept 23, 2021, at page A26
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/ ... ina-submarines.html

Note:
(a)
(i) The piece appeared in the page reserved for editorials, which now New York Times labels as "Opinion." Online, the piece is topped with "Guest Essay."
(ii) Sylvie Kauffmann is a woman.
(iii) Sylvia (given name)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_(given_name)  
("The French form is Sylvie")

(b) "Asked on public television whether President Biden's behavior was reminiscent of his predecessor's, Mr [France's foreign minister, Jean-Yves] Le Drian replied, 'Without the tweets.' "

He was saying that Biden and Trump are no different, except that the former does not do tweets. See
'Trump Without the Tweets' - Joe Biden Unable to Persuade EU He's 'Reliable.' Sky News Australia, Sept 27, 2021
https://www.skynews.com.au/world ... 6fe87203c7d2ae84077
(Curtin University [1966- ; public; based in Perth; is name after John Curtin, prime minister of Australia (1941-1945)] Professor Joe "Siracusa recounted an EU chief foreign policy adviser saying all Joe Biden is – is 'Trump without the tweets' ")


(c) "France considers itself a 'resident power' in the Indo-Pacific region, a crucial battleground for the rivalry between America and China, because it possesses several islands and maintains four naval bases there."
(i) What Does It Mean to Be a 'Resident Power' in a Region?  Ask an Expert, (by Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis), Jan 5, 2016.
https://www.idsa.in/askanexpert/resident-power-in-a-region

Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma ... tudies_and_Analyses   
(1965- ; New Delhi; think tank)
(ii)
(A) Frédéric Grare (who is French), France, the Other Indo-Pacific Power. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Oct 21,2020
https://carnegieendowment.org/20 ... fic-power-pub-83000   
("On May 3, 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron made the term 'Indo-Pacific' a concept of French foreign policy for the first time—shortly after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had publicly dismissed the concept as an 'attention-grabbing idea' that 'will dissipate like ocean foam.' * * * [at the bottom of this essay:] the views represented herein are those of the author(s)" )

There is no need to read the rest.

• 两会时间: 2018年王毅部长答记者问实录（中英对照）. 译之有道, Mar 8, 2018
https://yizhiyoudao.kuaizhan.com/80/32/p507829092ece86
("2018年3月8日，十三届全国人大一次会议举行记者会，邀请外交部长王毅就中国外交政策和对外关系回答中外记者提问。记者会中英文实录如下：* * *
凤凰卫视记者：中国如何看待美、日、印、澳四国加强合作的 '印太' 战略？是否认为这是针对中国的 '围堵'？
Phoenix TV: What is China's view on the 'Indo-Pacific strategy' pursued by the US, Japan, India and Australia? Do you see it as an attempt to 'contain' China?

王毅：这个世界上，各种话题层出不穷，花样翻新。就像太平洋和印度洋上的浪花，一时引人耳目，转瞬归于平寂。有些学者和媒体渲染所谓 '印太战略' 是为了围堵中国，但四国官方立即表示无意针对任何国家。我希望他们说的是实话，也希望他们能言行一致。在当今时代，再挑起冷战已不合时宜，再搞小圈子对抗更没有市场。
Wang Yi: It seems there is never a shortage of headline-grabbing ideas. They are like the sea foam in the Pacific or Indian Ocean: they may get some attention, but soon will dissipate. * * *")
(B) Frédéric Grare and Manisha Reuter, Moving Closer: European Views of the Indo-Pacific. European Council on Foreign Relations (a think tank), Sept 13, 2021
https://ecfr.eu/special/moving-c ... f-the-indo-pacific/
("In April, the Council of the EU released its conclusions on the 'EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific' and the 27 EU foreign ministers formally invited Josep Borrell to present a new, fully fledged strategy for the region by September 2021. By EU standards, this was an achievement – 20 months earlier, the term 'Indo-Pacific region' was not even used in official documents in either the EU or its member states. One exception was France, which had developed its own strategy in 2018 (before revising it in 2021) and had been pushing ever since for the adoption of an EU-level equivalent. With regard to its overseas territories in the region, France is the only European country [likely EU only; Brexit occurred on Jan 31, 2020] that sees itself as a 'resident power' in the Indo-Pacific. Without such a role, other member states seemed wary of formally adopting the concept. This is due to its geopolitical connotations")
(iii) "four naval bases"

India Gets Access to French Bases in Indian and Southern Pacific Oceans. National Herald (an English-language daily based in New Delhi that "was founded by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938 as a tool to win independence": en.wikipedia.org), Mar 10, 2018   
https://www.nationalheraldindia. ... and-western-pacific
("France is the biggest maritime power in the Indian Ocean, with bases in Reunion and Mayotte, it also has a considerable presence in the southern Pacific Ocean, with bases in French Polynesia and New Caledonia.  France has been at the forefront of freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea")
(A) Réunion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Réunion
("is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately 550 km (340 mi) east of the island of Madagascar [a nation independent from France in 19060] and 175 km (109 mi) southwest of the island of Mauritius [a nation independent from UK in 1968]"/ section 1 Toponymy)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurrection_of_10_August_1792
• Modern French-English dictionary:
* tuilerie (noun feminine; from [noun feminine] tuile [tile] + -erie; plural: tuileries): "tilery"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tuilerie
* réunion (noun feminine): "meeting"  (The English noun reunion is derived from Middle French (French "from the 14th to the 16th century": en.wikipedia.org] réunion.)
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/réunion
• French Revolution lasted from May 5, 1989 to Nov 9, 1799. Storming of the Bastille occurred on July 14, 1789. Then,
Insurrection of 10 August 1792
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurrection_of_10_August_1792
("On August 10th, the National Guard of the Paris Commune and fédérés from Marseille and Brittany stormed the King's residence in the Tuileries Palace in Paris, which was defended by the Swiss Guards"/table: Belligerents (Strength)]:] Republicans (20,000), Royalists (1,200) )

The rest is confusing, which there is no need to read.
• A bigger picture of the events are presented in
Counterrevolution, regicide, and the Reign of Terror. Encyclopaedia Britannica, undated
https://www.britannica.com/event ... the-Reign-of-Terror
("In the first phase of the war (April–September 1792), France suffered defeats; Prussia joined the war in July, and an Austro-Prussian army crossed the frontier and advanced rapidly toward Paris. Believing that they had been betrayed by the monarchy—indeed, France’s Austrian-born queen, Marie-Antoinette, had privately encouraged her brother, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, to invade France as a counterrevolutionary measure—the Paris revolutionaries rose on August 10, 1792. They occupied Tuileries Palace, where Louis XVI was living, and imprisoned the royal family in the Temple. At the beginning of September, the Parisian crowd broke into the prisons [note the plural form] and massacred the nobles and clergy held there")

Tuileries Palace
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuileries_Palace  
("The name derives from the tile kilns or tuileries [defined above] which had previously occupied the site"/ table: Construction started 1564 Completed 1860s Demolished 1883)

Square du Temple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_du_Temple  
("is [note the present tense] a [public] garden in Paris * * * The Square occupies the site of a medieval fortress in Paris, built by the Knights Templar [in 13th century]. Parts of the fortress were later used as a prison during the French Revolution, and then demolished by the mid-19th century [1853 to be exact]")
(B) Mayotte
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayotte
(The name [is contraction of the Arabic [for] 'island of death (maybe due to the dangerous reefs circling the island)" )
(C) For French naval base in French Polynesia, see overseas military bases of France
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_military_bases_of_France  
(section 1 Sovereignty forces: French Polynesia)
• French naval base
(D) New Caledonia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia
("British explorer James Cook was the first European to sight New Caledonia, on 4 September 1774, during his second voyage. He named it 'New Caledonia,' as the northeast of the [principal] island reminded him of Scotland" /  table: Annexed by France 1853)
• Caledonia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonia  
(section 1 History, section 1.1 Etymology)


(d) "even though France and Germany objected that China was not part of the organization's [NATO's] remit"

remit (n): "British : an area of responsibility or authority —usually singular  <The problem was outside/beyond our remit>"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/remit
(e) "The Anglosphere has a colorful expression for this illusion: punching above one's weight. Tellingly, it does not translate easily into French."

She means, I guess, that such (punching above one's weight) is not found in French language or concept. Possibly she was engaging a pre-emptive strike, anticipating a comment: "France is overreaching."

(f)
(i) Barracuda-class submarine (France)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barracuda-class_submarine_(France)  
(is a nuclear attack submarine [for French navy]; table: Cost €1.32 billion (2014) per unit (or sub), In commission 2020- , Planned 6, Building 5, Completed 1)

Quote: "One conventionally-powered concept, dubbed the SMX-Ocean, features fuel cells and vertical launchers. This variant has been offered to the Indian Navy [India is interested but has not ordered].  In 2016, another variant, known within Naval Group [French shipbuilder] as the Shortfin Barracuda – with a diesel-electric powerplant and scaled-down missile capabilities – was offered to both the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). That same year, the Shortfin Barracuda was selected by the Australian government, for a major expansion of the RAN submarine fleet during the 2030s. A total of 12 vessels were to enter service with the RAN from 2032, augmenting and replacing six Collins-class vessels. However, in mid-September 2021, the Australian government decided the RAN will instead acquire a nuclear-powered submarine design of British and American lineage, thus effectively cancelling the Barracuda contract")  (citations omitted)
(A) barracuda (n)
https://www.etymonline.com/word/barracuda
(B) "Some species grow quite large (up to 65 inches or 165 cm in length)"  en.wikipedia.org for Barracuda
(ii) Australia will have to compensate France for backing out the contract to build subs. See
Alice Dempster and Stacey Lee, Senator Rex Patrick Welcomes Scrapping of French Submarine Deal, Naval Group Slams Decision as 'Major Disappointment.' ABC Radio Adelaide (where ABC stands for (national, or government-owned) Australian Broadcasting Corp), Sept 15, 2021 (updated on Sept 16)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021 ... l-on-subs/100465934
("Former-submariner-turned-senator [of Australia] Rex Patrick * * * The submarine plan was revealed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison this morning * * * The plan means the $90 billion deal with French company Naval Group — currently underway in South Australia [specifically Adelaide] — will be scrapped, but Mr Morrison said the government intended to build the new submarines in Adelaide. * * * Senator Patrick said about $2 billion had already been spent on the Naval Group project.  'We're walking away, maybe with some experience, some knowledge, lessons that we will take away from this program, and there will be an exit fee,' he said")
• Adelaide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide  
("Named in honour of Queen Adelaide [wife of King William IV; queen (1830-1837; same as her husband, who died in 1837)], the city was founded in 1836 as the planned [city]")