PARIS ― French Prime Minister François Bayrou on Monday declared the alliance with the U.S. is seriously wounded and called President Donald Trump’s attitude toward Ukraine “an indecency.”
“On Friday evening, a staggering scene unfolded, marked by brutality and a desire to humiliate, the aim of which was to threaten Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into surrendering to the demands of his aggressor,” Bayrou said in a speech to the National Assembly, referring to Trump’s verbal assault on Zelenskyy at the White House after weeks of growing alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While Bayrou has limited weight on foreign affairs, which are under the president’s remit, his words contrast with carefully calibrated comments from Emmanuel Macron and other leaders, who are trying to salvage what’s left of the transatlantic alliance.
Macron said on Sunday there was “legitimate emotion” about the scene and “doubt” over U.S. support for Europe in the long term.
But he also called for Trump and Zelenskyy to start talking again.
“I think that beyond the anger, everyone needs to return to calm, respect and recognition, so that we can move forward concretely,” Macron said, and also stressed: “I want to make the Americans understand that disengaging from Ukraine is not in their interest.”
The White House scene, which stunned the world, left many European leaders wondering whether the U.S. is still an ally.
“There were two victims in this scene, the security of Ukraine, which is fighting for its survival,” Bayrou said, and “a certain idea of the alliance we had with and around the United States … We are being asked to accept standards we refuse … to abandon our concern for decency and accept the indecency they would like to impose on us.”
Bayrou was speaking ahead of a debate in the French parliament’s lower chamber, where opposition leaders lined up to speak about European security and the situation in Ukraine in a non-binding parliamentary discussion.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose party and its allies hold roughly a third of the seats, reiterated her camp’s strong opposition to anything resembling a common European defense.
While Macron has sole authority on military affairs, the parliament holds sway on defense-related legislation, including the budget, which could be impacted should France seek to step up its military spending.
Over the weekend, Macron called on Europeans to dramatically increase their defense spending to over 3 percent of GDP; France currently spends 2.1 percent of its GDP on its military.