CANBERRA – France has sent its largest business
delegation in nearly two decades to Australia, talking up the economic benefits
of its bid for a $50 billion contract to build a fleet of 12 stealth submarines
for Australia.

Executives from French corporate giants Airbus, BNP
Paribas, Thales and dozens more arrive in Canberra on Tuesday for meetings with
top government and business figures.

France is up against Japan and Germany in bidding for
one of the world’s most lucrative defence contracts. A decision is expected
within months, ahead of an Australian national election in which the deal and
the jobs it will create are expected to be a key issue for the conservative
government.

The French visit, which includes top officials from
France’s state-controlled naval contractor DCNS, is part of a process of
growing strategic and economic ties with Australia, said French Ambassador
Christophe Lecourtier, and not limited to submarines.

“We’re not just offering a submarine design, but
also a broader alliance between our business communities, between our
governments, to face some of the most tricky challenges of this century,”
he told Reuters.

Last month, Australia announced in a long-awaited White
Paper that it would increase defence spending by nearly $30 billion over the
next 10 years in order to protect its strategic and trade interests in the
Asia-Pacific region.

“France has not written your white paper but this
white paper says Australia needs to increase its effort in terms of military
expenditure and effort and we are telling Australia that we can be a partner in
this field,” Lecourtier added.

Reuters reported last month that the competition was
narrowing to a race between Japan and France, with Tokyo playing up its
strategic support from Washington and Paris pushing the subs deal more on its
merits for Australia’s slowing economy.

Germany’s TKMS is proposing to scale up its 2,000-tonne
Type 214 class submarine, while Japan is offering a variant of its 4,000-tonne
Soryu boats made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Tokyo was initially seen as the frontrunner, due to
close ties between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former Australian
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was ousted in a party coup by Malcolm Turnbull
last September, and perceived support from Washington to build closer ties
between two key Asian allies.

– Reuters