French leaders have reacted angrily after US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld described American allies France and Germany as "problems" in the crisis over Iraq.
Finance Minister Francis Mer said he was "profoundly vexed" by Mr Rumsfeld's remarks - which branded France and Germany "old Europe - while a former employment minister described the US as arrogant.
If you knew what I felt like telling Mr Rumsfeld...
Roselyne Bachelot, French Environment Minister
Mr Rumsfeld made the remarks in Washington after French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder agreed to work together to oppose US threats of war in Iraq.
"Germany has been a problem and France has been a problem," Mr Rumsfeld told Washington's foreign press corps.
"But you look at vast numbers of other countries in Europe, they're not with France and Germany... they're with the US.
"You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't," he said. "I think that's old Europe."
Mr Rumsfeld pointed to the planned expansion of Nato, with seven eastern European and Baltic countries invited to join the alliance.
"If you look at the entire Nato Europe today, the centre of gravity is shifting to the east," Mr Rumsfeld said.
European divisions
The BBC's James Coomarasamy, in Paris, says the divisions between Europe and the US over Iraq are growing more public and the rhetoric more pointed by the day.
The French Environment Minister, Roselyne Bachelot, told one interviewer: "If you knew what I felt like telling Mr Rumsfeld..."
She then stopped herself, saying the word was too offensive.
Europe is deeply divided over the possibility of war with Iraq. France and Germany are opposed to early military action, while the UK is sending massive troop deployments to the Gulf.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has questioned the commitment of France and Germany to disarming Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
However, he has described the disagreements with France as a "blip", saying he hoped "the French would come to the understanding" of the need to use the threat of force to compel Saddam Hussein to disarm.
