Image: from Globe Eye News X@GlobeEyeNews
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
PARIS – In a soaring address from the Sorbonne on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a blunt warning to his continental counterparts: Europe must “start acting like a world power” or risk falling into terminal geopolitical irrelevance.
The speech, coming at a moment of profound tension between the European Union and the new Trump administration, outlined a vision for a “sovereign, powerful, and independent” Europe capable of defending its own interests without relying on the traditional “American crutch.”
A “Profound Geopolitical Rupture”
Macron’s rhetoric centered on what he called a “tectonic shift” in the global order. Citing the combined pressures of a protectionist United States, an assertive China, and the ongoing war on the continent’s doorstep, he argued that the rules-based order that governed Europe for decades has vanished.
“The Europe of today is mortal. It can die,” Macron warned a crowded hall of diplomats and students. “Whether it survives depends solely on our choices. We can no longer be a market that is open to everyone while others play by different rules.”
The Pillar of Strategic Autonomy
The President called for a massive acceleration in European defense and industrial policy, proposing:
-
The NanoIC Initiative: Referencing the newly opened €700 million pilot line—Europe’s largest—Macron argued that “technological sovereignty” in semiconductors is as vital as military hardware.
-
Double Defense Spending: While NATO members move toward a 5% GDP target, Macron insisted the funds must stay within the European industrial base. “If we spend European taxpayers’ money to buy American tanks, we are not building a future; we are financing someone else’s,” he stated, in a clear swipe at recent U.S. procurement pressure.
-
Unified Foreign Policy: He urged the EU to move away from unanimous voting on foreign affairs, suggesting that the “slowness of 27” is a luxury Europe can no longer afford in a world moving at “internet speed.”
Transatlantic Friction
The speech comes amid “deeply shaken” relations with Washington. Following President Trump’s recent comments regarding NATO and the subsequent U.S. maritime advisory in the Persian Gulf, Macron suggested that the shift in U.S. policy is “structural, not temporary.”
“We respect our allies, but we must be able to protect ourselves,” he said. “A Europe that is a junior partner to one power and a subcontractor to another is a Europe that has already disappeared.”
Mixed Reception in Brussels
While the address was met with standing ovations in Paris, the reaction across the Rhine and the East was more cautious. German officials noted that while “strategic autonomy” is a noble goal, the reality of the Russian threat makes the U.S. nuclear umbrella indispensable for the foreseeable future.
However, for supporters of the “SAFE” (Security Action for Europe) initiative, Macron’s speech serves as the definitive manifesto for a new era of European history—one where the EU either steps up as a third global pole or fades into a mere “museum of the 20th century.”