PARIS: France will send its ambassador back to Washington next week after French President Emmanuel Macron and President Joe Biden agreed in a phone call Wednesday to meet next month over a submarine dispute.
The two heads of state “have decided to open a process of in-depth consultations, aimed at creating the conditions for ensuring confidence,” the Elysee and the White House said in a joint statement. Macron and Biden will meet at the end of October in Europe, the statement said.
In an unprecedented move, France recalled its ambassador after the US, Australia and Britain announced a new Indo-Pacific defense deal last week. As part of the pact, Australia will cancel a multibillion-dollar contract to buy diesel-electric French submarines and acquire US nuclear-powered vessels instead.
The French ambassador will “have intensive work with senior US officials” after his return to the United States, the statement said.
Biden and Macron agreed “that the situation would have benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners,” it said. Biden “conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard.”
Biden reaffirmed in the statement “the strategic importance of French and European engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The European Union unveiled last week a new strategy for boosting economic, political and defense ties in the vast area stretching from India and China through Japan to Southeast Asia and eastward past New Zealand to the Pacific.
The United States also “recognizes the importance of a stronger and more capable European defense, that contributes positively to transatlantic and global security and is complementary to NATO,” the statement said.
Earlier Wednesday, Macron’s office said the French president was expecting “clarifications and clear commitments” from Biden, who had requested the call.
French officials described as a “crisis of trust” last week’s announcement of the Indo-Pacific deal, with Macron being formally informed only a few hours beforehand.
Paris is calling for “acts, not words only,” Macron’s office said.
France’s European Union partners agreed Tuesday to put the dispute at the top of the bloc’s political agenda, including at an EU summit next month.
The French presidency categorically denied a report by Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper published on Wednesday saying Macron could offer the country’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council to the European Union if the bloc backs his plans on EU defense.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed French anger over the submarine deal, saying French officials should “get a grip.” Using both French and English words, he added they should give him a “break.”
Speaking to reporters on a visit to Washington, Johnson said the deal was “fundamentally a great step forward for global security. It’s three very like-minded allies standing shoulder-to-shoulder, creating a new partnership for the sharing of technology.”
“It’s not exclusive. It’s not trying to shoulder anybody out. It’s not adversarial toward China, for instance.”
The deal has widely been seen as part of American efforts to counter a more assertive China in the Indo-Pacific region.
![]()
France's envoy to return to US after Macron, Biden talks
Short Url
https://arab.news/57jb8
France's envoy to return to US after Macron, Biden talks
- The two heads of state “have decided to open a process of in-depth consultations, aimed at creating the conditions for ensuring confidence,” the Elysee and the White House said in a joint statement.
- The French ambassador will “have intensive work with senior U.S. officials” after his return to the United States
Barcelona train crash kills 1 in Spain's second deadly rail accident in days
- The northeastern region's Interior Minister, Nuria Parlon, told local media the crash killed one person and injured 37
BARCELONA: A commuter train near Barcelona ploughed into the rubble of a collapsed wall on Tuesday, killing one and injuring dozens in Spain's second deadly rail accident in days.
The latest incident is likely to raise more questions about Spanish transport safety, coming two days after the collision of two high-speed trains in the southern region of Andalusia killed 42 people -- the country's deadliest rail accident in more than a decade.
On Tuesday, "a retaining wall collapsed onto the tracks, causing an accident involving a passenger train" in the municipality of Gelida, around 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Barcelona, the Catalonia region's civil protection agency posted on social media.
The northeastern region's Interior Minister, Nuria Parlon, told local media the crash killed one person and injured 37 -- several seriously.
"We regret to announce the death of one of the passengers on the train," said Parlon, adding authorities had not yet completed the identification process of the deceased.
"Of the total number of people treated, five are in serious condition," she added.
Emergency workers used torches to survey the wreckage of the derailed train carriage, which had turned into a mass of crumpled metal, an AFP reporter saw on Tuesday night.
Spanish rail infrastructure operator Adif said a storm caused a wall to fall, creating the rubble that the train slammed into. Catalan commuter trains would remain suspended, it added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Spain's king and queen visited the site where two high-speed trains collided on Sunday as well as survivors of the accident that injured more than 120 people, 37 of whom are still in hospital.
The country's deadliest rail accident in more than 12 years took place when a train operated by rail company Iryo, travelling from Malaga to Madrid, derailed near Adamuz in the southern Andalusia region.
It crossed onto the other track, where it crashed into an oncoming train heading to the southern city of Huelva, which also derailed.
Dressed in dark clothing, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia shook hands with emergency services workers near the spot where the mangled wreckage of the trains lay.
They then visited a hospital in the nearby city of Cordoba, where some of the injured are being treated.
Speaking to reporters after leaving the hospital, Felipe said he wanted to "convey the affection of the entire country" to the victims.
Santiago Salvador, a Portuguese national who broke a leg in the accident, said he felt lucky to be alive.
"I was thrown through the carriage; it felt like being on a carousel," Salvador, his face covered in cuts, told Portuguese state television RTP.
"It looked like hell. There were people who were very seriously injured."
- Crack on tracks -
Sunday's derailment was Spain's deadliest rail accident since 2013, when 80 people were killed after a train veered off a curved section of track outside the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela.
Flags flew at half-mast on public buildings, television anchors wore black, and cabinet ministers curtailed public appearances as Spain observed the first of three days of national mourning.
The government has vowed a full and transparent investigation into the cause of the accident.
Unlike the 2013 disaster, the derailment occurred on a straight section of track, and the trains were travelling within the speed limit of 250 kilometres (155 miles) for the area concerned, officials said.
Spanish media report that the probe is focusing on a crack more than 30 centimetres (12 inches) long in the track at the site of the accident.
The crack may have resulted from "a poor weld or a weld that deteriorated due to train traffic or weather", daily newspaper El Mundo reported, citing unidentified technicians with access to the inquiry.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente said investigators were looking to see if a broken section of rail was "the cause or the result" of the derailment.
He said the Iryo train was "practically new" and the section of track where the disaster happened had been recently renovated, making the accident "extremely strange".
- Sabotage ruled out -
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said "the possibility of sabotage was never considered" and that "there has never been any element suggesting otherwise."
The head of state rail operator Renfe, Alvaro Fernandez Heredia, said human error has "been practically ruled out".
Rail operator Adif on Tuesday also imposed a temporary 160 kph speed limit on parts of the high-speed line between Madrid and Barcelona after train drivers reported bumps.
Maintenance crews will inspect the tracks overnight, and the restriction is expected to be lifted if no issues are found, the company added.
The latest incident is likely to raise more questions about Spanish transport safety, coming two days after the collision of two high-speed trains in the southern region of Andalusia killed 42 people -- the country's deadliest rail accident in more than a decade.
On Tuesday, "a retaining wall collapsed onto the tracks, causing an accident involving a passenger train" in the municipality of Gelida, around 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Barcelona, the Catalonia region's civil protection agency posted on social media.
The northeastern region's Interior Minister, Nuria Parlon, told local media the crash killed one person and injured 37 -- several seriously.
"We regret to announce the death of one of the passengers on the train," said Parlon, adding authorities had not yet completed the identification process of the deceased.
"Of the total number of people treated, five are in serious condition," she added.
Emergency workers used torches to survey the wreckage of the derailed train carriage, which had turned into a mass of crumpled metal, an AFP reporter saw on Tuesday night.
Spanish rail infrastructure operator Adif said a storm caused a wall to fall, creating the rubble that the train slammed into. Catalan commuter trains would remain suspended, it added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Spain's king and queen visited the site where two high-speed trains collided on Sunday as well as survivors of the accident that injured more than 120 people, 37 of whom are still in hospital.
The country's deadliest rail accident in more than 12 years took place when a train operated by rail company Iryo, travelling from Malaga to Madrid, derailed near Adamuz in the southern Andalusia region.
It crossed onto the other track, where it crashed into an oncoming train heading to the southern city of Huelva, which also derailed.
Dressed in dark clothing, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia shook hands with emergency services workers near the spot where the mangled wreckage of the trains lay.
They then visited a hospital in the nearby city of Cordoba, where some of the injured are being treated.
Speaking to reporters after leaving the hospital, Felipe said he wanted to "convey the affection of the entire country" to the victims.
Santiago Salvador, a Portuguese national who broke a leg in the accident, said he felt lucky to be alive.
"I was thrown through the carriage; it felt like being on a carousel," Salvador, his face covered in cuts, told Portuguese state television RTP.
"It looked like hell. There were people who were very seriously injured."
- Crack on tracks -
Sunday's derailment was Spain's deadliest rail accident since 2013, when 80 people were killed after a train veered off a curved section of track outside the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela.
Flags flew at half-mast on public buildings, television anchors wore black, and cabinet ministers curtailed public appearances as Spain observed the first of three days of national mourning.
The government has vowed a full and transparent investigation into the cause of the accident.
Unlike the 2013 disaster, the derailment occurred on a straight section of track, and the trains were travelling within the speed limit of 250 kilometres (155 miles) for the area concerned, officials said.
Spanish media report that the probe is focusing on a crack more than 30 centimetres (12 inches) long in the track at the site of the accident.
The crack may have resulted from "a poor weld or a weld that deteriorated due to train traffic or weather", daily newspaper El Mundo reported, citing unidentified technicians with access to the inquiry.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente said investigators were looking to see if a broken section of rail was "the cause or the result" of the derailment.
He said the Iryo train was "practically new" and the section of track where the disaster happened had been recently renovated, making the accident "extremely strange".
- Sabotage ruled out -
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said "the possibility of sabotage was never considered" and that "there has never been any element suggesting otherwise."
The head of state rail operator Renfe, Alvaro Fernandez Heredia, said human error has "been practically ruled out".
Rail operator Adif on Tuesday also imposed a temporary 160 kph speed limit on parts of the high-speed line between Madrid and Barcelona after train drivers reported bumps.
Maintenance crews will inspect the tracks overnight, and the restriction is expected to be lifted if no issues are found, the company added.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.