France Denies Telegraph Story That It Could Give Up UN Seat

(Bloomberg) -- The French presidency slapped down a report in the Daily Telegraph that the country’s seat on the United Nations Security Council could be put “at the disposal of the European Union” if its governments back Emmanuel Macron’s plans for an EU army. 

The Telegraph cited Sandro Gozi, a former Italian Europe minister now serving as a member of the European parliament for Macron’s party, on Tuesday as saying the proposal could be “put on the table” for discussion.  

But in a swift rebuttal on Wednesday morning, the Elysee called the newspaper an “English tabloid.” 

No, France hasn’t proposed to let go of its seat on the Security Council, the Elysee said in a Tweet. “It belongs to France and will stay that way.” Gozi also tweeted a denial and called the article “extreme manipulation.”

The government in Paris has been trying to rally Europe behind Macron’s push for closer military integration after Australia canceled a $66 billion submarine order with France in favor of a new defense pact with the U.S. and Britain.

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