France’s President Emmanuel Macron has criticised America’s President Joe Biden for calling Vladimir Putin “a butcher” and saying he “cannot remain in power”, warning that the chances of a ceasefire and peace through diplomatic means are undermined by such escalating rhetoric. Macron, who is likely the European Union’s leading politician, has publicly criticized the Democrat’s statements on Putin, suggesting he is escalating tensions and making a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis harder to achieve.