Emmanuel Macron was left furious by Boris Johnson’s trip to Kyiv – as it ruined his own plans for a secret visit.
The French president reportedly threw a strop after seeing the PM arrive in Ukraine to show solidarity with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Macron had been working on travelling to Kyiv to pose as the EU’s de facto leader and bolster support in the tight national elections.
But Mr Johnson ‘cut the grass from under his feet’, French satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine said.
Macron (pictured campaigning) has sought to be the EU’s de facto leader during the war
Mr Macron is said to have ranted to his advisers: ‘It’s so annoying to see Johnson still has this capacity to put himself front and centre when he hasn’t actually done very much since the start of this.
‘Johnson just “does Johnson” – it’s populism.
‘He keeps repeating “Putin must fail” but there’s nothing behind the words.’
Macron embraces Italy PM Mario Draghi (left) at NATO summit last month as Johnson watches
