"We are entering a new era: our prosperity and our security are not guaranteed," warned the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, in a televised speech during prime time to raise awareness among the French of the need for a European rearmament following the withdrawal of US military aid to Ukraine. France, he said, will have to increase its Defense spending. "We will make additional investments in defense without having to raise taxes."
"It is not only the people of Ukraine who are fighting for their freedom", warned the French president. "It is also our own security that is under threat. If a country can invade its neighbor without receiving punishment, peace cannot be guaranteed on our continent." "Russia has become a threat and will remain a threat to France and Europe," emphasized Macron, who called for the need for a strategic review and "unprecedented measures" to increase military spending "in this new context."
The French president defended "a certain idea of democracy and freedom" and did not hesitate to make veiled criticisms of Donald Trump for his "change of position" in the war in Ukraine and for simultaneously launching an "incomprehensible trade war" with Mexico, Canada, and the European Union.
"The future of Europe cannot be decided in Washington or Moscow. The threat comes from the east, the stability situation after the fall of the wall (Berlin) no longer exists," he added. "In the face of dangers, we cannot be mere spectators."
Macron announced that next week he will meet in Paris with the Chiefs of Staff of European countries to develop "a plan for a solid, reliable, and verifiable peace." "I want to believe that the United States will be by our side," he clarified, "but we must be prepared if it is not."
"Our nuclear deterrence will help us", Macron warned, willing to open the debate on extending the French nuclear umbrella to its European partners on Thursday in Brussels. "France has to recognize its special status, by having the most efficient and effective army in Europe," emphasized the French president.
Macron announced this intervention in a brief message on social media, citing "a moment of great uncertainty," without directly referring to Trump's actions and the withdrawal of military aid to Ukraine. The purpose of his intervention was twofold: to calm the anxiety generated by transatlantic tensions and to raise awareness among the population of the need to increase defense and security spending.
Hours before his speech, the Elysee Palace was forced to deny reports of a possible new trip to Washington by Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, supposedly accompanied by Volodymyr Zelensky, to try to ease tensions between them and present the peace plan of European allies.
The French Government spokesperson, Sophie Primas, fueled speculation by acknowledging that a new trip to the US capital was under consideration. Primas warned that Europe is at "a turning point in its history" and that "never has the situation in the old continent been so serious and unstable since World War II."
After his speech, Macron dines at the Elysee with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the most unruly partner of the 27, on the eve of the EU security summit in Brussels. Orban has not hidden his double admiration for Trump and Putin in recent days.
Before his dinner with the French president, he made his viewpoint clear: "There is a clear strategic difference that the elections in the United States have made it difficult to avoid: some want war and others want peace."