Bob Carr's walkout of Anzac Day concert at Villers-Bretonneux offended French officials

Former foreign minister Bob Carr gravely offended officials of the small French town of Villers-Bretonneux on Anzac Day last year, walking out of a town hall concert where he was a guest of honour.

The walkout by Mr Carr and his party sparked an angry letter the following day from the Amiens Brass Orchestra's conductor, Eric Brisse, to the Australian Embassy in Paris.

The then-Australian ambassador, Ric Wells, apologised by email to the mayor of Villers-Bretonneux, regretting that the minister's program did not allow him to stay until the concert ended.

But a government source has told the ABC the concert was part of Mr Carr's program and he was scheduled to attend all of it.

The source said the former foreign minister left the concert because it bored him.

Mr Carr said he did not tell the Australian Ambassador to France the performance bored him.

"No, I thought it was a terrific performance and I certainly did not say that," he said.

The ABC's Freedom of Information request for the letter from Mr Brisse, and any other related correspondence, was rebuffed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the grounds that releasing it "could reasonably be expected to cause damage to Australia's international relations".

"In particular, release of these documents could harm the international relations of the Commonwealth by compromising the successful conduct each year of the Anzac Day commemorations in Villers-Bretonneux," the department's letter said.

Diggers venerated in small French town

Villers-Bretonneux ranks high in the pantheon of Australia's World War I battles.

The Australian Imperial Force suffered 3,788 casualties defending the town in April 1918 and they have been venerated there ever since.

The bonds forged in that battle were so strong that the town's school was rebuilt with money donated by Victorian schoolchildren.

A sign in the school's quadrangle reads "Do Not Forget Australia". Streets in the town have Australian place names.

Mr Carr has told the ABC that he had three events to attend on Anzac Day last year and the concert was not an official commemoration.

"I was just taking the advice of my ambassador, who said that if we didn't leave at that time we would have been late for the next two Anzac Day services," Mr Carr said.

"Now the concert was not an Anzac commemoration, it was a performance by the local band and the ambassador had me leave so that I could do what I was in France to do, attend the next two Anzac Day services."

A senior Government source disputed Mr Carr's version of events, saying the foreign minister's program had been designed around the concert, he was the guest of honour and he had no other pressing engagement.

The official also said that Mr Carr sat outside the glass front doors of the town hall, in view of the orchestra, for quite some time before he left the venue.

Some details about the event and its aftermath were recently made public by DFAT in response to a series of Questions on Notice asked by Liberal senator Sean Edwards.

The Department confirmed that Mr Carr left the town hall concert at 10:15am, before its scheduled conclusion.

It said Mr Brisse then sent an email to the Australian Embassy's cultural attache on April 25, 2013, but gave no details of its content.

The embassy's first secretary replied four days later.

On May 3, 2013, Mr Wells emailed the town's mayor, thanking him for his hospitality and regretting that "the demands of Mr Carr's program required him and his official party to leave before the concert's conclusion".

Mr Carr said he was not aware of Mr Brisse's letter.

"No I'm not, but that wasn't an Anzac commemoration, it was a performance at a concert attended by locals, a village band, one of a remarkably high order, it was terrific," he said.

"But I was there with the Australian ambassador. I was happy to stay. I was there with the Australian ambassador who said we must leave if we're to make the next two Anzac commemorations."

Letter indicated exchange between officials

The letter from DFAT in response to the ABC's Freedom of Information request indicated there was also an exchange about the incident between Australian and French officials.

In denying access to that correspondence, it argued that it "covers sensitive information communicated to the Australian diplomats by representatives of the French government".

"Release of this material would adversely affect working relationships between Australia and France as it could raise doubts about Australia's ability to protect information, and thereby reduce the willingness of representatives of France to share information with Australian officials in the future."

Mr Carr said he was happy for Mr Brisse's letter to be released.

"I've got nothing to do with that. I'm happy for anything to be released ... this is an absolute beat-up."