France, on this reasoning, was always going to be upset about the sudden cancellation of an order worth $90 billion.

And do not underestimate the French penchant for drama. President Macron has his own domestic politics and looking tough at home is no doubt part of that.

His outrage about the suddenness of the cancellation seems disingenuous. There is a dispute over how much Australia flagged its possible change of partner - France indicates complete surprise but Mr Morrison indicates that Australia had warned France about unease about the contract.

But French over-dramatisation does not mean that the row is inconsequential.

The true - and genuinely outrageous - breach of trust was the leak of a private text message between leaders to a newspaper.

Private conversations between leaders should remain private. Leaders need to be able to have conversations without fearing that their words will end up in public print.

It would be easy, too, to dismiss Malcolm Turnbull's intervention as that of an embittered predecessor - "He would say that, wouldn't he?"

But that bald phrase from Mr Turnbull about Mr Morrison is brutal, particularly as it was delivered with intent to television cameras: "Scott has always had a reputation for telling lies."

In this current dispute with France, healing will take time, perhaps enough time for President Macron and Prime Minister Morrison to lose power.

This spat also matters at home. Mr Morrison was already under fire for his reluctance to go to Glasgow. In the end, he bowed to criticism - but it was a decision based on the "optics" rather than principle.

Mr Morrison's critics accuse him of being too concerned with appearance - Scotty from Marketing is the usual sneer. That insult may now resonate wider.

It may not matter to Mr Morrison if French leaders profess not to trust him.

But it will matter if the Australian public doesn't trust him, either.

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