A U.K. government official said that France’s actions — not only the D-Day invitation but also hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping this month and sending a representative to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration — were “disturbing.”
They said President Emmanuel Macron gave the impression of “seeing himself above the fray and that in the end he’s going to be some form on peace broker” on Ukraine, which they called “completely misplaced.”
A diplomat from another European nation said Paris “took everyone by surprise” with the invitation to Russia. The same diplomat expressed frustration over the lack of communication since the announcement in light of the high level of representation from several countries. U.S. President Joe Biden, Britain’s King Charles and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are expected to attend.
“The French have kept the discussions over the invitation quite internal,” said the diplomat who, like others quoted in this article, was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
The organizer of the D-Day commemorations, Mission Libération, which is headed by France’s former ambassador to Washington Philippe Etienne, said last month that Russian representatives would be invited though Putin was persona non grata at the ceremony.
“Contrary to the Kremlin, France does not do political revisionism of history,” Mission Libération said in a statement. “Historically, France has always invited countries whose troops had landed in Normandy. An invitation has in the past been extended to the Russian federation,” the statement said.
