France and the UK – Europe’s two biggest military powers – took a gamble in lining up behind US President Donald Trump to bombard Syria. Now they need to make sure it doesn’t backfire.
Critics swiftly accused France and Britain of playing loyal deputies to an unpredictable American leader, viewed by many in Europe with suspicion or outright scorn. Some worried it could further antagonise Europe’s unpredictable neighbour Russia at an already tense time.
French President Emmanuel Macron was accused of compromising the independence of a country that famously stayed out of former US President George W. Bush’s 2003 invasion of Iraq. British Prime Minister Theresa May was decried for not seeking parliamentary approval for Saturday’s coordinated airstrikes.
“The facts and the responsibility of the Syrian regime are beyond doubt. The red line set by France in May 2017 has been crossed,” Macron said in launching French military action.
The move could cost both leaders domestically, however.
In France, Macron is facing the worst labor unrest of his presidency so far, with strikes that halted two-thirds of French trains Saturday and weeks more of walkouts to come.
Macron drew criticism Saturday from the far-left to the far-right. National Front leader Marine Le Pen tweeted that the strikes expose France to “unpredictable and potentially dramatic consequences,” and criticized Macron for not taking an “independent” stance.
May said there was “no other choice” but to act fast, without taking time to recall Parliament from its break. Lawmakers are already crying foul.
While May wasn’t legally required to seek lawmakers’ approval, opposition leaders had suggested she had a moral responsibility to do so. The tainted legacy of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s rush to back US President George W. Bush in Iraq has overshadowed the debate.
“Theresa May should have sought parliamentary approval, not trailed after Donald Trump,” said opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. He warned that May could face a backlash in Parliament, calling the allies’ bombing “legally questionable” and saying it risks further escalating “an already devastating conflict.”
May’s Conservative Party lost its majority last June, and since then, her government has limped from crisis to crisis.