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President Trump criticized his French counterpart for military spending and trade Tuesday, two days after his return from a trip to Paris that revealed underlying tensions between leaders.
In a series of tweets, Mr Trump criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for his fight against the restructuring of the French economy, criticized Mr Macron's proposal that Europe must be more autonomous to its own defense and called on France to further contribute to the North. Treaty Organization of the Atlantic.
"Emmanuel Macron suggests creating his own army to protect Europe against the United States, China and Russia. But it was Germany in the two world wars – how did it go for France? Wrote Mr. Trump. "They were beginning to learn German in Paris before the arrival of the United States. Pay for NATO or not! "
Mr. Macron's office declined to comment on the
posts. The only posting in Mr. Macron's Twitter feed on Tuesday morning was a message commemorating the anniversary of the 13 November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people.
Mr. Trump's Twitter explosion followed his trip to Paris on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the First World War armistice. At a memorial ceremony at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe, Mr. Macron issued a sharp warning against the dangers of nascent nationalism.
Under the supervision of Mr. Trump, the French leader denounced nationalism as countries acting in their own interest and as a "treason" of patriotism. At an election event in October, Trump said, "I am a nationalist."
Mr. Macron has also championed multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union, as well as the global order based on international cooperation born in the aftermath of the two world wars.
This system was put to the test by Mr. Trump and his "America First" program, as well as by the rise to power of authoritarian leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who were all present at the meeting. ceremony.
The broad bands of Mr. Trump against the French president signal the deterioration of their relations, which developed during the president's visit to Paris in July 2017.
On Tuesday, Trump criticized France for making "very difficult for the United States to sell its wines in France," adding: "France makes an excellent wine, but the United States too."
"Not fair, we must change!" Wrote the president.
According to the Wine Institute, a US trade body, the fee for importing a bottle of wine in the EU varies between 11 and 29 cents depending on the alcohol content, while the rights to US imports are 5 cents for the still wine and 14 cents for the sparkling wine.
Trump was also interested in Macron's approval rate and French unemployment.
"The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low approval rate in France (26%) and an unemployment rate of nearly 10%. He was just trying to get into another subject, "Trump wrote. "By the way, there is no country more nationalistic than France, people very proud – and rightly so!"
He added: "STILL MAKE A GREAT FRANCE!"
A survey conducted by Kantar Sofres revealed that Macron's approval rate was 26% at the end of last month. The unemployment rate in France stood at 9.1% in the second quarter of the year.
Macron is in the midst of a controversial campaign to reshape the French economy and make it more business-friendly. His approval ratings dropped by 44% at the beginning of the year, according to Kantar Sofres. Its centrist party, Republic on the Move, retains a strong majority in parliament, but the French president has fired leading supporters on the left, partly because of its agenda for the business community.
The tensions between MM. Trump and Macron had been alive since the beginning of the trip to Paris.
A few days before Trump's visit, Macron gave an interview to French radio in which he described Europe as the "main victim" of Trump's decision to withdraw from the historic 1987 treaty. medium-range nuclear forces. Mr Macron also called for the creation of a "real European army".
Arriving in Paris on Friday, Trump wrote in an article on Twitter that he considered Mr. Macron's comments "very insulting". Trump has often demanded more military spending from European NATO members and questioned the benefits of the alliance for the United States.
The two leaders then held a tense meeting on Saturday inside the Elysee Palace. Addressing reporters before attending the meeting, Mr Macron sought to dispel tensions over transatlantic security ties, agreeing with Mr Trump that Europe needed to share more of the burden. defense of the continent.
"When President Trump has to protect or defend one of the US states, he is not asking France or Germany, or any other European government to fund it," Macron said before to go in camera to meet with Mr. Trump. "That's why I think we need more investment."
Write to Rebecca Ballhaus to [email protected] and Stacy Meichtry at [email protected]
