The French industrial group "Naval Group" plans to send Australia a "detailed cost proposal" regarding "the costs incurred and upcoming costs" following the cancellation of the massive contract to purchase 12 French submarines, as announced by the group’s chairman Pierre Eric Pommellet to Le Figaro. Pommellet stated that "Australia canceled the contract because it suited them, which means on the other hand that we did not make a +mistake+." He added, "This is one of the cases specified in the contract and will result in payment for the costs we have incurred and the forthcoming costs related to the actual dismantling of infrastructure and information and the redeployment of employees... We will demand all our rights."
Canberra selected Naval Group in 2016 to supply 12 modified conventional (non-nuclear) submarines based on the French nuclear submarine model "Barracuda," which France has begun to provide to its navy. The total value of the contract was 50 billion Australian dollars (31 billion euros) at the time of signing, amounting to 90 billion dollars when accounting for inflation over the course of the program, exceeding cost limits. This was the largest contract for defense equipment for any French industrial group or for Australia, and France referred to it as "the contract of the century." However, on September 15, Australia announced the termination of the contract to acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of a new strategic partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom in the Indo-Pacific region.
Pommellet told the newspaper, "We were informed of this decision without any prior warning." He confirmed that "Naval Group was never asked to offer nuclear-powered attack submarines of the Barracuda class, the latest generation of this type, to Australia. Such a matter can only be addressed at the highest level of government."
