Emmanuel Macron has issued a hard-hitting warning about the dangers of nationalism and of countries that put their interests before the collective good – in front of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
The French president denounced those who evoke nationalist sentiment to disadvantage others, calling it a “betrayal of patriotism” and moral values.
The US and Russian leaders listened in silence as Mr Macron took a swipe at the rising tide of populism in the US and Europe, warning: “The old demons are rising again, ready to complete their task of chaos and of death.”
During a gathering of dozens of world leaders to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War, the French president went on: “Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism.
“In saying, ‘Our interests first, whatever happens to the others’, you erase the most precious thing a nation can have, that which makes it live, that which causes it to be great and that which is most important: its moral values.”
The US president, who has repeatedly declared himself a nationalist, sat stony-faced.
Mr Trump defended his use of the phrase just last week, saying: “You know what the word is? I love our country. You have nationalists. You have globalists. I also love the world and I don’t mind helping the world, but we have to straighten out our country first. We have a lot of problems.”
More than five dozen heads of state and government had gathered today at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the base of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, a century after guns fell silent in the war that killed millions of people.
In a speech lasting nearly 20 minutes, Mr Macron also called on fellow leaders to fight for peace.
The French leader also defended the European Union and the United Nations, which he said guaranteed peace and enshrined “a spirit of cooperation to defend the common property of a world whose destiny is inextricably linked”.
Europe should not spend higher defence budgets on US-made weapons, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview due to air Sunday, after a defence row with President Donald Trump.
One of dozens of world leaders attending World War I commemorations in France this weekend, Trump tweeted after landing in Paris that Macron's call for a "real European army" was "insulting".
In an interview recorded on Saturday with CNN after talks with Trump, Macron said the two leaders had spoken about what his office has portrayed as a misunderstanding.
"We had a regular discussion this morning and he confirmed in front of the press that he was ok," Macron told CNN.
Both leaders agree there should be "better burden-sharing within NATO", meaning Europe should be less reliant on US spending for its defence, Macron said.
But Macron told CNN: "To be very direct with you, what I don't want to see is European countries increasing the budget in defence in order to buy American and other arms or materials coming from your industry."
Macron had last month criticised Belgium's decision to buy US-made F-35 fighter jets instead of European planes, saying it "goes against European interests".
In his CNN interview he stressed the need for Europe to take charge of its defence.
Whereas "after the Second World War we needed the US to be present for our security, I think now the momentum for Europe is to build its own security and its own sovereignty," he said.
He refrained from commenting on Trump's "insult" tweet, beyond saying, "I always prefer having direct discussions or answering questions than making my diplomacy through tweets."
In a radio interview this week, Macron had named the United States alongside China and Russia as sources of risk.
He said the EU needed to be less dependent on the United States, not least following Trump's withdrawal from a Cold War-era nuclear treaty.
Trump on Friday called Macron's comments "very insulting". The French presidency later sought to defuse the row, saying Macron remarks had been misinterpreted.
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