‘Caught unawares’: France put to the test by the US-Israeli war in the Middle East

‘Caught unawares’: France put to the test by the US-Israeli war in the Middle East Submitted by Laurent Perpigna Iban on Tue, 04/07/2026 - 11:22 Neither a player nor in head-on opposition to the US and Israel, France is attempting to define its role in the crisis while trying to limit over exposure France's President Emmanuel Macron at a national defence council meeting at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on 1 March 2026, following the first US-Israeli strikes on Iran (Aurelien Morissard/AFP) Off Donald Trump said it bluntly and without mincing words in a message posted on his Truth Social network on 30 March: France has been "VERY UNHELPFUL" in the war on Iran , and the United States “will REMEMBER!!! ". The open ire, tinged with threats, denounced Paris's refusal to allow American aircraft carrying military aid to Israel to fly over French territory.