Defence spending, Erdogan-style: Guns for NATO leaders – Press Review

A triumphant front page in L’Équipe reads “À cœur joie” after France put their heart and soul into a 2–0 victory over Morocco, while Le Parisien describes the team as “irresistible”. Abroad, The Telegraph hails the French captain and top scorer with the headline “In for the Kyl”, a play on Kylian Mbappé’s name. Meanwhile, Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo describes the French side as “untouchable”, praising not only Mbappé, Doué, Olise and Dembélé in attack, but also a solid squad across the pitch. It’s a chorus of praise for the French team, whose next opponents could be Spain.

After a scare over Donald Trump’s safety, the US president returned home from the NATO summit in Ankara on a different aircraft from the one he arrived on, reports The New York Times. The luxurious Boeing 747 controversially gifted to the president earlier this year, it transpires, does not have the same counter-missile defences as the ageing Air Force One, or the new aircraft currently being prepared to replace it. Trump was advised to fly home on the less opulent plane for his own safety, according to the newspaper. This comes as The Wall Street Journal reports that Tel Aviv has informed Washington of an alleged new Iranian plot to assassinate the president.

Also at NATO, the gifts handed out by President Erdogan came as a surprise to fellow leaders: engraved vintage pistols, each accompanied by six live bullets. An unusual present – and one with legal implications for those transporting it. Le Soir describes the Belgian prime minister discovering the gift on arrival, only to hand it straight over to airport police, while The Times reports that Prime Minister Keir Starmer left his in Ankara to be safely decommissioned. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reportedly thanked President Erdogan for the gesture and is considering donating hers to a museum, while Canada’s Mark Carney was left feeling rather modest: according to Radio Canada International, all he brought Erdogan was a jar of maple syrup.