US-EU trade deal is a ‘dark day’ for Europe, says French PM | First Thing

Trump tariff of 15% means European exporters will face more than triple the average 4.8% levy now in force. Plus, US readers on the financial stress delaying milestones

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Good morning.

The US-EU trade deal, clinched in a ballroom at Donald Trump's golf resort in Scotland on Sunday, has been criticised by France's prime minister and business leaders across Germany.

What did the French prime minister say? France's prime minister, Francois Bayrou, said Europe had submitted to the US, on a dark day" for the union. It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, gathered to affirm their values and defend their interests, resolves to submission," Bayrou posted on X.

How will Israel's humanitarian pauses' affect Gaza's starvation crisis? Israel has announced airdropped aid will resume and that humanitarian corridors would be established to facilitate the entry of UN aid trucks into Gaza. NGOs say these steps may ease aid access, but with mass starvation already under way, far more is needed. In particular, humanitarian groups have called for a full ceasefire in order to get civilians the help they need.