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 up its possible change of partner - France indicates complete surprise but Mr Morrison indicates that Australia had warned France about unease about the contract.

Parliament was told in June that there was "contingency planning" in the Department of Defence for the project. Costs had been rising by the tens of billions at the same time as the number of promised manufacturing jobs in Australia had been falling.

As the senator for South Australia Rex Patrick put it: "They would have to have their eyes shut not to realise the danger they were facing."

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 sympathetic newspaper.

Private conversations between leaders should remain private. If they become public, trust evaporates. 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."

Diplomatic rows usually blow over eventually. Ambassadors are withdrawn. Words are said - and then a country's self-interest takes hold again.

But it is not instant. In 1985, the French intelligence services sank the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior. There was outrage in Australia and even more in New Zealand where it happened, but diplomatic relations returned - eventually.

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

Australia may need French goodwill as China becomes more assertive, with a fast growing military building up the capability of invading Taiwan.

France is one of the two pillars of the European Union. It and Germany like to act as one. Mr Morrison has not made it easier to get EU support in whatever unpleasant eventuality there may be.

This spat also matters at home in Australia. Mr Morrison was already under fire for his reluctance to go to Glasgow. In the end, he bowed to criticism - but that made him look as though he was overly influenced by perceptions. 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 seem to matter too much to Mr Morrison if French leaders and diplomats profess not to trust him.

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

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