Trump bombs in Paris
The symbolism around the burning of Notre Dame is almost too awful to bear. Is it an omen for the destruction of France? The end of the EU? The beginning of a new Dark Ages? Looking at the scores of weeping Parisians who gathered to watch the cathedral burn, even as they prayed for it to be saved, none of those portents is far off the mark.
French President Emmanuel Macron said it out loud. While the pompiers of the Paris fire department were battling the fire, Macron was on Twitter: “Notre Dame is aflame,” he cried. “Great emotion for the whole nation. Our thoughts go out to all Catholics and to the French people. Like all of my fellow citizens, I am sad to see this part of us burn tonight.”
Within hours, the burning cathedral was
another part of the proxy war between France and the US. Relations between Macron and that other Twitter-mad leader, Donald Trump, have been frosty for a while, largely as a result of Trump’s threats to leave Nato and abandon Europe to the Russians.
On Monday night, Trump weighed in with some ill-advised fire-fighting advice. “So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,” he tweeted. “Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!”
The US knows about water tankers. Boeing’s 747 Supertanker carries 73,000l of fire retardant and can extinguish a wildfire in a single pass.
Thanks to the vast forests that cover the south of the country, France’s Civil Security agency also knows a thing or two about fighting fires from the air. Its response to Trump was swift.
“All means are being used [to fight the fire] except for water-bombing aircraft which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral.”
The coup de grace for Trump’s intentions, well-meaning as they might have been, was delivered by his poor grasp of history.
The last time liquid was dropped from big US aircraft over France was on April 15 1945, when US Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers attacked the port city of Royan to winkle out the last fanatical German defenders.
The Americans used napalm and 1,700 French civilians died.
Too soon, Donald.