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PARIS: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Monday slammed a weekend trade deal between the United States and the European Union as a “dark day” and tantamount to “submission,” as other politicians poured vitriol on the deal.
“It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, united to affirm their values and defend their interests, resorts to submission,” said Bayrou in a post on X of the accord thrashed out Sunday.
US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck the deal, which fixed a baseline tariff of 15 percent on EU exports to the US.
French President Emmanuel Macron did not immediately react Monday to the high-stakes agreement, which drew wider criticism across much of the French political spectrum
Stock markets rose in Europe and Asia on hopes the agreement can avert a potentially damaging trade war.
But many French politicians were not convinced.
“Ursula von der Leyen accepted yesterday the commercial surrender of Europe, to the detriment of our exporters, farmers, and industrialists,” Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally, wrote on X.
The day before, Bardella’s party colleague and three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen had criticized the deal as “a political, economic and moral fiasco.”
“This is a defeat for the European Commission, which failed to create the power dynamics needed properly to defend European interests,” said Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, a Macron ally in parliament and president of the National Assembly’s European Affairs Committee.
Anglade blasted what he said was a “signal of weakness” sent “to our competitors (and) we must fight to reverse the situation.”
A Bayrou ally in his Democratic Movement, lawmaker Philippe Latombe, said on X he “deeply regrets” a deal which “while it certainly avoids a trade war, comes at the cost of culpable subservience, a mortgage on our future, and the sacrifice of entire sectors of our sovereignty. It’s a bad deal, except for Trump.”
On Sunday, the Socialist Party said the EU appeared cast as a US “vassal” while far-left France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said France’s choice was one of “non-submission to the (US) Empire and non-alignment.”
The French finance ministry told AFP Finance Minister Eric Lombard and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot would Wednesday discuss “consequences” of the deal with major French economic players.

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Prof. Muhammad Yunus has proposed establishing ������Ƶ’s production sector in Bangladesh, his office said, following a meeting with the Kingdom’s newly appointed envoy to Dhaka.

Dr. Abdullah bin Abiyah presented his credentials as Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh earlier this month. He paid a visit to Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna on Sunday.

Yunus, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who heads Bangladesh’s interim government, “proposed that ������Ƶ could consider establishing its production sector in Bangladesh by utilizing Bangladesh’s geostrategic location, cheap labor, and the country’s resources,” the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing said in a statement.

Azad Majumder, Yunus’ deputy press secretary who was present during the meeting, told Arab News that the move would be beneficial for both countries as it would “create employment opportunities for the Bangladeshi youth and offer ������Ƶ an opportunity to obtain essential goods at a better price.”

The Saudi market is already familiar with Bangladeshi workers as some 3 million of them live in the Kingdom. They are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the biggest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh.

Many have been employed in the construction sector but increasingly also in professions requiring high skills. In 2023, ������Ƶ launched the Workers’ Recruitment and Skill Verification Program in Bangladesh, aiming to advance the professional competence of employees in the Kingdom’s labor market.

Yunus discussed with the Saudi envoy the prospect of increased investment in health education to support skills development in Bangladesh’s healthcare sector.

“It would also benefit the Kingdom, given the growing demand for medical professionals in ������Ƶ. In recent years, Bangladesh has sent a number of healthcare workers there,” Majumder said.

“A number of issues concerning the bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and ������Ƶ were discussed during the meeting. Prof. Yunus expressed his hope that the Saudi-Bangladesh relationship will reach new heights during Ambassador Abiyah’s tenure and pledged full support from his government to achieve this goal.”

The ambassador delivered an invitation letter from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for Yunus to attend the Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh in October.

Often dubbed “Davos in the Desert,” the forum is an annual international investment and innovation conference that gathers global leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and innovators.