US President Donald Trump today suggested France would have been vanquished in both world wars if not for the US.
Taking to Twitter, Mr Trump wrote that his French counterpart had suggested Europe built its own army "to protect Europe against the US, China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France?"
"They were starting to learn German in Paris before the US came along. Pay for NATO or not!" he continued.
Mr Trump often complains that NATO countries don't pay their fair share of the defense alliance's expenses.
Ahead of his arrival for the Armistice Day commemorations in Paris last weekend, Mr Trump also had a go on Twitter about what he perceived to be President Emmanuel Macron's call for a European army.
Mr Macron's office at the time said Mr Trump had mistakenly combined two different comments by the French president.
Mr Macron had said in an interview that Europe needed to protect itself against "China, Russia and even the United States" in terms of cyberspace.
Later, he reiterated that Europe needs to build up its own military because it can no longer depend on the US for defense.
The two presidents struck a more friendly tone as they met at the Elysee Palace on Sunday, insisting they were good friends despite the dustup over their comments about European security.
Still, in his tweets on Wednesday, Mr Trump criticised France, accusing it of imposing unfair trade tariffs, and Mr Macron of trying to divert attention from what the US president described as a "very low Approval Rating" and the French unemployment figures.
The US president also defended his failure to carry out a planned visit to a cemetery for Americans killed in World War I outside Paris on Sunday, saying bad weather had grounded his helicopter.
The cancellation drew criticism from those who said Mr Trump should have found a way to travel to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial, regardless of the weather.
The president tweeted that he had suggested traveling to the site by car, but that the secret service had decided against this.
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