US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, took advantage of the 82nd anniversary of the Normandy Landings to launch a plea against the impact of immigration in Europe. "Unfortunately, today, European beaches are being assaulted by different dangerous ideologies," warned the former Fox News presenter leading the Pentagon.
"To the beaches of Spain, Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria, boats and men are arriving," Hegseth added, in what can be interpreted as a veiled reference to Pedro Sánchez's migration policy. "When will the European capitals do something about this invasion? Or is it already too late?".
Instead of participating in the international ceremony of the anniversary, Hegseth delivered a speech at the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer and paid tribute to the 9,387 US soldiers who died on D-Day. "Hopefully, we learn from the lessons of the past," he declared. "These men buried here fought in a war alliance where each partner contributed their industry, courage, and sacrifice."
"Hollow slogans, sumptuous summits, and press releases are worthless," he added, indirectly referring to the attitude of European leaders towards the Iran war. "Real allies do real things and suffer losses because they share a common cause worth fighting and dying for."
"Peace is only guaranteed by strength," affirmed the Secretary of War at another point in the speech. "The United States must lead the way, and we will, but our allies must stand with us, shoulder to shoulder."
Hegseth shifted his speech towards the role of NATO, "conceived as an alliance of strong countries, not as a relationship of dependence." The War Secretary described the Atlantic Alliance as "an organization obsessed with slogans and operations outside its territory" and advocated for "NATO 3.0," a new model already underway under the auspices of Donald Trump.
The Pentagon leader justified the withdrawal of US military personnel from the old continent as "a realistic allocation of resources." "Europe must take the initiative for its own conventional defense as a strategic necessity," he concluded, directly calling on France to contribute to the construction of a "more balanced, resilient, and credible NATO."
The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Catherine Vautrin, recalled how her country has maintained the two defense pillars established by General De Gaulle - conventional defense and nuclear deterrence - and how France has doubled its Defense budget in 10 years. Vautrin took advantage of the D-Day anniversary on French soil to ensure that her country is promoting "the European pillar of NATO" and ensuring that the commitment of the allies translates into "military capabilities."