FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

RFI and France 24 frame the budget request as a sign of an America sacrificing its social model on the altar of war. France 24 details: the increase of over 40% in one year is 'the largest since World War II.' The war costs 'up to $2 billion per day' according to closed-door parliamentary briefings. Trump proposes $73 billion in cuts to non-military programs — renewable energy, housing, education, university scholarships. Trump's key phrase, cited verbatim: 'It's not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare — we're fighting wars.' RFI translates: 'We are at war. We don't have time to take care of daycare.' Democratic Senator Patty Murray responds: 'Donald Trump is happy to spend more money on bombs in the Middle East than on families here in America.' Le Monde integrates the budget into its multi-front live coverage, burying it in the mass of war coverage — an editorial choice that minimizes the subject's economic importance in favor of military narrative. Paris sees in this confirmation that American war cannibalizes resources that could fund autonomous European defense.