The French newspaper Le Monde: Diplomacy in the Trump Era, a Nightmare for Europeans
Two days ago, the sudden ultimatum given by the US President to the Ukrainian President was the main topic of the weekend edition of the French newspaper Le Monde, highlighting Zelenskyy's difficult choices, with a large section analyzing the true meaning of Trump's 28-point plan, and in the weekend geopolitical special page, it traced the efforts of European allies to flatter and avoid breaking the transatlantic security alliance since Trump returned to the White House. The French National Assembly rejected the 2026 budget bill last night and early this morning with a bizarre vote of one supporting and 404 opposing, and the anti-drug civil rally held in Marseille on the 22nd were also special reports in the weekend edition of Le Monde.
Trump's New Ukraine Plan Favors Russia
Regarding Ukraine, an article by Le Monde's correspondent in Johannesburg, South Africa, pointed out that the threat in Trump's ultimatum is evident, and the content of the peace plan proposed favors Russia. Ukraine needs to make painful, even unacceptable concessions, not only giving up more territory, but also the amnesty clause would prevent Ukrainian civilians who have experienced rape, torture or kidnapping from seeking justice. Trump's ultimatum reveals his eagerness and reflects his usual approach of applying pressure on the weakest side to solve problems. At this time, Zelenskyy is also unstable due to corruption scandals involving his close aides.
"Trump Wants Ukraine to Surrender to Russia's Demands"
Le Monde's Washington correspondent specially interviewed Fiona Hill, a senior Russian affairs expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Fiona Hill served as a presidential advisor and member of the National Security Council during Trump's first presidency. In her view, the latest Ukraine plan proposed by the Trump administration is a betrayal of Ukraine and the trust of Ukraine towards the United States. It is also a betrayal of Europe and the concept of collective European security. The new Ukraine plan did not involve Europeans and Ukraine was also unaware beforehand. The timing of announcing the plan coincided with a particularly vulnerable moment for Ukraine, due to corruption scandals involving the president's close aides and misinterpretations of the battlefield situation. The current White House wants Ukraine to surrender to Russia's demands to end the war, without considering the whole picture. She refuted the so-called non-military buffer zone concept in the new plan, pointing out that no buffer zone has ever helped resolve the issues causing the conflict. She said that Trump is on Russia's side in the current negotiations because he considers Russia a great power while Ukraine is not. And Russia wants to turn a series of failures into a major victory. Fiona Hill believes that the issue facing Europe, as well as other American allies such as Japan and South Korea, is whether they should trust the United States.
"Diplomacy in the Trump Era, a Nightmare for Europeans"
The geopolitical special page of the weekend edition of Le Monde titled "Diplomacy in the Trump Era, a Nightmare for Europeans" outlined the efforts of European allies to please and avoid angering the new master of the White House since Trump returned to the White House, trying to prevent the rupture of the transatlantic security alliance. The article wrote that during Trump's first term, thanks to the efforts of his advisors and counterbalances, European leaders were not completely overwhelmed. However, after his re-election in 2024, with the opposition party in disarray, anything could happen, which frightened European leaders. But the article also cited several European diplomats and government ministers who pointed out that although Trump's actions are rough, the message he sends to Europe is similar to that of his Democratic predecessors. Whether it was Obama or Biden, they have gradually withdrawn from Europe, shifting their focus to the Indo-Pacific. Trump has especially successfully promoted European unity. Europe has gradually realized the necessity of defense autonomy. However, Europe is not yet prepared to be without the American umbrella. In the view of the article's author, the smile on the face of the President of the European Commission, von der Leyen, when she signed the imbalanced trade agreement with the United States on August 21, is a frozen image of the old Europe's dependent posture toward the new king of the world.
Editorial of the magazine "L'Express": European Support for Ukraine Has Always Been Out of Step
The latest issue of the French magazine "L'Express", published before the disclosure of the Trump administration's new plan for the Ukraine war, includes an editorial written by philosopher Bernard Henry Lévy, who still firmly believes in Ukraine's victory. Because over the past four years, he has seen the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers, the determination of Ukrainian military and non-military leaders, and the suffering of Ukrainians in the war, who, though exhausted, remain standing. He will not lose faith in Ukraine because of the recent corruption scandal involving the president's close aides. However, he emphasized that since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, European support for Ukraine has always been out of step. When Ukraine needed missile launchers, Europe sent helmets; when it needed artillery, Europe sent missile launchers; when the battlefield shifted to air defense operations, Europe sent shells. In the view of the article's author, providing Ukraine with more Patriot missile-like equipment, allowing Ukraine to use European-provided weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, and including Ukraine in Europe's radar monitoring network, these can turn Ukraine's persistence and courage into victory.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849618535558144/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.