France Ignores Trump’s Comments

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office says it has no comment about a series of disparaging remarks by US President Donald Trump against the French president and nation.

Trump unleashed what seemed like a personal grudge against President Macron over his recent call to establish a “real, European army” to provide “protection from China, Russia, and even from the United States of America.”

The US president said it was America that came to the rescue of France during World War II.

 “How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the US came along,” he tweeted.

“The problem is that Emmanuel [Macron] suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France,” Trump said in another tweet.

And “Make France great again” was yet another tweet posted by the American president.

Later in the day, Macron’s office, approached by the media for a reaction, said it had no comment.

It merely said Macron had made his views about a European army “very clear” to Trump during talks in Paris on the sidelines of commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I, according to Reuters.

In calling for a European army, President Macron had cited the Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, a move that is expected to result in an arms race.

Trump had earlier described Macron’s call for a European army “very insulting.”

Merkel reiterates Macron’s call

Under President Macron, France has embraced a more Europe-centered approach and has closely partnered with Germany – another champion of the European cause.

In his Tuesday tweets, the American president said it was Germany that had posed a threat to France in the two world wars.

 “Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two,” he wrote.

On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated Macron’s call for a European Army word for word.

 “The times when we could rely on others are over. This means we Europeans have to take our fate fully into our own hands,” She said. “We should work on a vision of one day establishing a real, European army.”

Trump, whose country is a member of NATO – itself made up of mainly European countries – has insisted since his election campaign days that Europe must pay more to fund the military bloc.

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