The Secretary of Defense received a chilly welcome when he touched down in France.
Pete Hegseth flew to France to commemorate the anniversary of the D-Day landings, but the locals were not pleased to see him.
The 45-year-old Secretary of Defense was “persona non grata” for locals of Langrune-sur-Mer, a small town in Normandy where an international ceremony was held on Saturday, according to French news station BFM TV.
Sylvie Lamy Thepaut, a member of the local association Langrune en Commun, did not hold back on her distaste for Hegseth.
“He has very warlike remarks, and it seems to us that he does not exactly share our values of democracy and freedom,” she told the outlet, speaking in French.
Days before Hegseth landed in northern France, a local civic and political organization released a scathing statement calling for the cancellation of his trip.
“This individual holds values contrary to democracy, human rights, and peace. This is evidenced by his numerous anti-European remarks,” the group said, recounting Hegseth’s earlier statements about “the parasitism of Europeans” and “his American supremacist remarks such as ‘the War Department.’”
“The honor of Langrune, that of France, and the memory of the young allies, American, British, Canadian… who died on our beaches in the name of democracy would dictate canceling the visit of this individual,” the group concluded.
Chantal Richard, a member of the group, Langrune en Commun, also told BFM that they “can’t pretend it’s business as usual.”
“What’s happening with the Trump administration isn’t business as usual. The fact that Pete Hegseth is challenging all the international organizations that emerged from the Second World War isn’t business as usual,” she said. “The words must be spoken, he must be called out for who he is, for the values he represents: colonial, warmongering, racist, far-right values. Silence seems to us to be the worst thing we can do on these issues.”
The Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hegseth landed in Paris on Friday with his wife and six of their kids in tow, swiftly drawing backlash for what some characterized as a “family vacation.”
A former official of the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division told The Washington Post that extra agents were called into duty to ensure the protection of Hegseth’s family. Some expressed concerns about “the resource strain” of providing extra security for the group.
“As a taxpayer, I’m concerned about it,” an Army official told the outlet. “But as a professional who always has to claw for money to do just basic missions, I just look at that cost and think, how much more of X, Y, and Z could we have bought if not for that?”
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell maintained that Hegseth brought his family along “at his own expense.”
“Every parent should teach their kids what real sacrifice & courage look like,” he wrote on X in response to the Post’s report. “That’s how we keep freedom alive. Proud to serve alongside a Secretary of War who leads by example, on & off the battlefield.”
Hegseth appeared unfazed by the backlash surrounding his trip, using his D-Day anniversary speech to take veiled shots at European allies who have refused to take part in the Trump administration’s war with Iran.
“The men buried here thought in a war-fighting alliance where every partner brought its full measure of industry, courage, and sacrifice,” he said. “Not empty slogans, not lavish summits, not communiqués. Real allies doing real things, taking real losses for a shared cause worth fighting and dying for. Each nation pulled its way.”
“Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies. Beaches in Spain, in Italy, in Greece, and in Bulgaria, boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion, or is it too late?”
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