Macron slams French ministers, journalists over leaked Israel comments – POLITICO

But on Thursday evening in Brussels, Macron tried to calm the controversy by addressing his government and the media during a news conference at the end of a summit of EU leaders.

Ministers “must respect the rules and act ethically and not make comments that are either truncated, false or taken out of context,” Macron told reporters. The French president said he was “astonished” when he read stories about what he allegedly said.

“I talk enough about the situation in the Middle East and I don’t need ventriloquists,” he said.

The French government is headed by conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier. It includes ministers from Macron’s centrist camp, but also from the center-right Les Républicains party. So it doesn’t always completely agree with the president.

Tensions are rising between Macron and Netanyahu as Israel continues its attacks against the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group in Lebanon – a country long aligned with France – especially after Israeli forces attacked UN peacekeepers in the south of the country have.

Macron also called for a halt to arms sales to Israel in a recent interview with French radio, prompting an angry response from Netanyahu, who called the French president a “disgrace.”

France tried to broker a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah last month, which collapsed when Netanyahu ordered attacks against the group’s headquarters and killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah.