Even though it was Australia that canceled the massive contract, the bulk of French ire was squarely directed at the U.S.

“The American choice to push aside a European ally and partner like France … shows a lack of coherence that France can only note and regret,” according to a joint statement from Defense Minister Florence Parly and Le Drian that was France’s first official response to the announcement.

Nevertheless, French officials admit that the core tenets of the Franco-American relationship will remain unchanged given the importance of the issues on which they cooperate. An hour after the new trilateral partnership was announced, France, through Macron’s Twitter account, announced it had killed the leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara — an area where the French get vital assistance from U.S. military intelligence.

In a sign of how lopsided the power balance is between the historic allies, the French embassy in Washington canceled in protest a reception it was hosting on Friday to mark the 240th anniversary of the Battle of the Chesapeake, which commemorates a French naval victory over a British fleet during the American Revolution.