French President Emmanuel Macron, facing a challenge from the far right and perhaps more vulnerable than at any time during his presidency, on Thursday delivered a comprehensive speech on the need for a more assertive Europe. The speech sought new impetus, a theme he has been urgently emphasizing since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The nearly two-hour speech reflected Mr Macron’s belief that only a strengthened “sovereign” EU – a “European power”, in his words – can keep the continent afloat in an unstable world dominated by the United States. to escape strategic irrelevance. Countries are at war with China and in Europe and the Middle East.
“We must wake up to the fact that our Europe is mortal,” Macron declared in front of government ministers, European ambassadors and other dignitaries. “It may die. It will die, and whether it dies or not is entirely up to us.”
The speech, held at the Sorbonne in Paris, was a follow-up to a speech delivered by Mr Macron at the same venue September 2017. Mr Macron then discussed the future of Europe and the EU, as a disruptive young president just elected still enjoying his political honeymoon. Now without an absolute majority in parliament and with his approval ratings declining after seven years in power, he has become a divisive figure and has spent the past two years struggling to chart a course for his second term.
Macron’s decision to speak out less than two months before European Parliament elections on June 9 is widely seen as an attempt to boost his centrist Ennahda party, which is currently in second place in the election. Latest opinion polls The man behind Jordan Bardella’s far-right National Rally party.
Mr Macron described a world at a “turning point” where Europe can no longer rely on US security, Russian energy and Chinese industrial production and must become more strategically autonomous, technologically innovative and militarily autonomous. Resilient.
He said: “We are moving too slowly and not ambitious enough.” He proposed that only through “strength, prosperity and humanism” can Europe set a unique model for the world. He said it “should never become a vassal” of the United States, but stopped short of proposing anything entirely new.
There has been significant progress in European integration since Mr Macron’s first speech, which was somewhat prescient.Germany hit by coronavirus pandemic Break long-held taboos and supported the issuance of joint European debt, spurred by the war in Ukraine European spending increases On defence, Mr Macron has long called for less reliance on US military power.
But Mr Macron has always been impatient with what he sees as lazy thinking, as when he described Nato as “brain dead” in 2019 because it failed to adapt to a changing world, and his bold pronouncements have also angered some of his European partners. Not all Europeans believe Mr Macron has the responsibility to lead the 27-member bloc into a different future.
Relations between Mr Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have been strained in recent times. turbulent by disagreement About the war in Ukraine and how to run America. Macron has recently infuriated Scholz by suggesting that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine cannot be ruled out, and the president said in a statement on Thursday that he “absolutely supports” it.
“The basic condition of our security is that Russia cannot win its war of aggression against Ukraine,” Macron said.
Macron reiterated his support for the establishment of a European “rapid deployment” force of about 5,000 military personnel. EU 2022 Overview as a way to respond to external crises. It is expected to be fully put into use in 2025. He also expressed support for the creation of a “European Military Academy” to improve coordination among European militaries. He said that EU member states should prioritize the purchase of European military equipment rather than foreign supplies.
These are familiar themes for the president, who has struggled to overcome an image of aloofness. At a time when many French are facing financial hardship, it’s unclear whether his lofty vision will dent the popularity of Bardela, the 28-year-old libertine of the far right.
Long-standing obstacles to the far-right’s rise to power have collapsed as the party has become the largest in parliament, as the National Front (now the National Front) is widely believed to pose a threat to the republic. the single opposition force.
“Our opponent in this European election is Emmanuel Macron, and I told the French people that what we must achieve on June 9 is to set limits for the president of the republic,” Mr Bardera said on Thursday said during the telecast. Macron’s speech. Bardera’s themes – anti-immigration rhetoric, the need for greater security and the fight against inflation – resonated with an anxious France.
Mr. Bardera is a protege of perennial far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. His popularity increases her chances of succeeding the term-limited Mr Macron in 2027, and even increasing his chances of becoming a presidential candidate himself.
In an apparent attack on the far right, Mr Macron said “liberal democracy is not taken for granted” and that the rule of law, an independent press, free universities, the rights of minorities and the separation of powers were all “denied”. He praised Poland as a model for EU membership. Turn your back on illiberalism, In recent elections, centrists defeated the ruling nationalist party.
Mr Macron also said he would like to see abortion rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; France last month became the first country in the world to do so Protect abortion rights in the Constitution.
Mr Macron’s aides insist the Sorbonne is not the end of the campaign, arguing Mr Macron wants to influence overall EU decision-making strategic agenda The next five years are expected to be decided by EU leaders after elections in June.
They said on condition of anonymity that, in line with the French government’s approach, the crisis that has gripped the world since his first speech in 2017 showed that Mr Macron was right to insist that Europe needs to be master of its own destiny. Get rid of technological and industrial dependence, especially on China and the United States.
There are widespread concerns in Europe that the November U.S. presidential election could result in a victory for former President Donald J. Trump, whose “America First” plans and suspicion of NATO have increased concerns about Europe’s military and strategic dependence on the United States. For Macron, these developments vindicate his warnings of seven years ago.
