"Europe must be the first to provide for its own conventional defence", said US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on his arrival in Normandy on Saturday. He is taking part in commemorations marking the 82nd anniversary of the 1944 D-Day landings.
During a meeting attended by, among others, France's Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin, Hegseth called on "allies such as France to face up seriously to this reality and to show it through concrete progress".
On a trip to Singapore at the end of May, the US defence secretary had already reproached Europeans for having "for too long" ignored calls to strengthen their defences.
Vautrin responded by confirming that France was engaged in a "rearmament drive".
Hegseth’s remarks come as the US announced a reduction in American troops stationed in Europe, ahead of a NATO summit scheduled in Ankara, Turkey, next month.
In the meantime, the official D-Day commemorations began at 1:00pm CET in Ouistreham.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is presenting certificates and green berets to the families of Captain Philippe Kieffer's 177 French commandos who landed on Sword Beach on June 6, 1944.
The international ceremony is due to begin at 4:00pm in Langrune-sur-Mer, in the presence of ambassadors and officers representing the Allied forces, as well as Germany.
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