"Submission." The word, when spoken by Prime Minister François Bayrou, resonates with particular force. In 2015, writer Michel Houellebecq used the word as the title for a novel, in which he imagined "the old politician" Bayrou becoming the prime minister of France as it fell under Islamist domination. Ten years later, Bayrou, who has, indeed, risen to the post of prime minister, used the exact word that had once shocked him to condemn the agreement concluded on Sunday, July 27, between the United States and the European Union: "It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, united to affirm their values and defend their interests, resigns itself to submission," the prime minister wrote on the social media platform X, on Monday.
"Submission." With this condemnation, Bayrou broke with his usual political line. As an MEP from 1999 to 2002 and co-founder and president of the European Democratic Party, the centrist prime minister has typically been among the EU's most ardent supporters. Now, he has suddenly accused its leading figure, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, of having betrayed her mission by accepting that European products exported to the US would face 15% tariffs, all while American imports to Europe do not face similar penalties.
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