PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron has described Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki as an “extreme right-wing anti-Semite”, escalating tensions with Warsaw just days before the French leader faces re-election.
The Polish Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador to Warsaw on Friday after the French daily Le Parisien published the comments as part of an interview with Macron.
Asked about Mr Morawiecki’s recent address, comparing Mr Macron’s contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin to talks with Hitler, Mr Macron told Le Parisien: “It’s a shame. The Polish prime minister is a far-right anti-Semite who bans LGBT people.
The Polish Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The country does not recognize same-sex marriage, and its ruling Law and Justice Party has vowed to halt the expansion of more liberal attitudes and laws on LGBT rights in Europe at the Polish border.
The Franco-Polish enmity is testing the unity of Europe’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It also undermines the French leader’s diplomatic growth just before millions of French people voted in Sunday’s first round. Studies show that far-right leader Marin Le Pen has begun to approach Macron, who neglected the election campaign to focus on diplomatic solutions to the war in Ukraine.
Mr Macron, who holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, has helped build consensus on European sanctions aimed at pulling Russia out of the global financial system. He also maintains an open channel to Mr Putin, passing messages between the Russian leader and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
Earlier this week, when horrific images of the massacre of civilians in Bucha, a Ukrainian city near the capital Kyiv, began to appear, Mr Morawiecki criticized Mr Macron during a speech in Krakow.
“President Macron, how many times have you negotiated with Putin? What have you achieved? “Mr. Moravetsky asked.” Would you negotiate with Hitler, with Stalin, with Pol Pot?
In an interview with Le Parisien, Mr Macron described Mr Morawiecki as a supporter of Mrs Le Pen, adding: “Let’s not be naive. He is trying to help her before the vote!
Poland is deeply disappointed by Mr Macron’s insistence on a “new European security architecture” during his diplomacy with Mr Putin. Poland and some of its neighbors see this as an effort that risks overstepping the sovereignty of Ukraine and other eastern countries in favor of a deal that meets the French president and his hopes of re-election.
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