Cancel of Mistral Deal is ‘Ridiculous’ Decision for Paris - French Media

France should have honored its Mistral deal with Russia instead of signing an arms deal with Qatar to deliver Rafale fighter jets, French news website AgoraVox reported.

The decision to cancel the delivery of Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia came a few days after French President Francois Hollande rejected his invitation to attend the Moscow Victory Day Parade on May 9 to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the Soviet Army's victory over Nazi Germany. These two decisions were absolutely rude and foolish on behalf of France, especially considering a series of arms export deals with other countries, including Qatar, said the French source.

The cancel of the Mistral deal with Russia is ridiculous, especially since France agreed to supply Rafal fighter jets to Qatar, the country suspected of supporting Islamic radicalism, AgoraVox said. The news website also added that the Mistral deal failure showed irrationality and contradiction of French diplomacy.

The Mistral deal was signed in June 2011. Russia already paid for the two helicopter carriers 1.2 billion euros. France was supposed to handover the first ship last November; however Paris decided to postpone the delivery, citing Russia's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.

Now France is at wits' end, trying to find the best way to let Paris to save its face after the embarrassing situation with the failed arms deal. It was reported that France wanted to deconstruct the two ships and re-sell them to third parties. However, Russia said France cannot do that, citing a specific contract clause that prohibits the re-export of arms deals. Meanwhile, the two helicopter carriers are berthed at the port in Saint-Nazaire. The upkeep and maintenance of the ships is costing French tax payers an astonishing 5 million euros per month.