Observation
On 16 September 2021, the leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States announced the creation of a trilateral security partnership called AUKUS. The announcement of the AUKUS partnership saw Australia cancel plans to acquire submarines from the French contractor Naval Group. This led to tensions in the bilateral relationship between Australia and France. Around half of Australians (49%) say both countries are equally to blame for the tensions in the Australia–France relationship. A third (35%) say Australia is more to blame, and 12% say France is more to blame. Australians also continue to hold high levels of trust in France and confidence in French President Macron.