Macron calls for ‘a real European army’ to ‘protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States’
- French President Emmanuel Macron wants a ‘real European army’
- He said it would protect continent ‘with respect to China, Russia and the U.S’
- Speech came as world leaders head to France for World War I centenary
Emmanuel Macron has today called for ‘a real European army’ to protect the continent from growing military threats – including the United States.
The French President said China and Russia were becoming increasingly powerful, and that the U.S. under President Donald Trump could not be relied upon for defence.
The 40-year-old said some of the actions taken by the U.S. President would have consequences for security in Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a Europe-wide army to protect the continent against growing threats of ‘China, Russia and even the United States of America’
‘We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America,’ Mr Macron told Paris radio station Europe 1.
‘When I see President Trump announcing that he’s quitting a major disarmament treaty which was formed after the 1980s euro-missile crisis that hit Europe, who is the main victim? Europe and its security.
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‘We will not protect the Europeans unless we decide to have a true European army.’
Mr Macron’s strong words came as he prepared to welcome Mr Trump and other world leaders, including Prime Minister Theresa May, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin to France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the World War I Armistice.
While Mr Macron and Mr Trump have a good working relationship, the French head of state has frequently expressed his mistrust of his U.S. counterpart.
President Macron arrives to pay his respect by the tomb of Lieutenant Robert Porchon, along with some of Porchon’s relatives, who was killed during World War I, in Les Eparges, France
In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York last month, Mr Macron attacked Mr Trump’s policies on Iran, Arab-Israeli peace, climate change and migration.
In a thinly veiled attack on Mr Trump’s America First-style of nationalism, Mr Macron also said: ‘Nationalism always leads to defeat.
‘If courage is lacking in the defense of fundamental principles, international order becomes fragile and this can lead as we have already seen twice, to global war. We saw that with our very own eyes.’
In his radio interview on Tuesday Mr Macron said: ‘We need a Europe which defends itself better alone, without just depending on the United States, in a more sovereign manner.’
The EU launched a multi-billion-euro defence fund last year designed to develop Europe’s military capacities and make the continent more strategically independent.
France has also led the creation of a nine-country force designed to be capable of rapidly mounting a joint military operation.
‘Peace in Europe is precarious,’ said Mr Macron. ‘We have been hit by intrusion attempts in cyber-space and multiple interventions in our democracies.’
Honouring: French President French President delivers a speech during a ceremony to pay tribute to French author Maurice Genevoix, in Les Epargnes, northern France
He also warned of ‘authoritarian powers which are reemerging and rearming within the confines of Europe’.
Mr Macon has noted similarities between the world today and the financial crisis and ‘the nationalism which played on people’s fears’ in the 1930s.
‘The peace and prosperity which Europe has enjoyed for 70 years are a golden moment in our history,’ he said, warning that ‘it has never lasted so long.’
Following the Europe 1 interview, aides to Mr Macron made it clear that he was not suggesting the USA was a military threat to Europe.
Instead, he was highlighting how Mr Trump’s country could no longer be relied upon to defend the continent.
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