Residents of a French village say Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his “warlike views” were not welcome there to mark the D-Day anniversary.

Hegseth flew to France to commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the World War II D-Day landings with a visit to Normandy, but did not attend Saturday afternoon’s main international ceremony hosted in Langrune-sur-Mer, according to French news station BFM TV.

Hegseth was not missed because officials in Langrune-sue-Mer did not want him there.

“He has very warlike views and it seems to us that this man does not share our democratic values,” Sylvie Lamy Thepaut, a member of the municipal association Langrune en commun, told the outlet.

The association also released a statement days before Hegseth arrived calling for his visit to be canceled.

“This individual holds values ​​contrary to democracy, human rights, and peace. This is evidenced by his numerous anti-European remarks,” the group said.

“The honor of Langrune, that of France, and the memory of the young Allied soldiers – American, British, Canadian – who died on our beaches in the name of democracy would dictate canceling this individual’s visit,” the group added.

Veterans from the United States, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, and British Defense Minister John Healey attended Saturday’s international ceremony in Langrune-sue-Mer, according to France24.

Healey praised the “resilience” of the UK during the war and the “great people, friends of liberty” in the US.

Earlier in the day, Hegseth used his D-Day anniversary speech at the American military cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer to attack European allies over their refusal to support Trump in his war of choice with Iran and lambast what he sees as another “invasion” of Europe’s shores, this time by migrants.

“The men buried here fought in a war-fighting alliance where every partner brought its full measure of industry, courage, and sacrifice,” he said. “Not empty slogans, not lavish summits, not communiqués. Real allies doing real things, taking real losses for a shared cause worth fighting and dying for. Each nation pulled its way.”