French President Emmanuel Macron called for a stronger, more integrated European defense and said the continent must not become a vassal of the United States, during a speech in which he outlined his vision for a stronger European Union on the global stage.
He also said that Russia's behavior is "unfettered" and that it is no longer clear where Moscow's "borders" lie. He added that Russia must not be allowed to win in Ukraine.
In a speech at the Sorbonne University amphitheater in Paris, Macron also said China and Russia were not following global trade rules and called on the European Union to overhaul its trade policy.
"There is a risk that our Europe could die. We are not equipped to face the risks," Macron said in a speech in Paris, warning that military, economic and other pressures could weaken and divide the European Union.
With three years left in his second and final term after losing his parliamentary majority in 2022, Macron wants to show critics that he still has the energy and fresh thinking that helped him become president in 2017.
Macron returned to the same themes of the speech he gave in September 2017, a few months after taking office in the same location. However, seven years later, the context is different and marked by Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Macron advocates the concept of European strategic autonomy in the economy and defense, arguing that Europe must face crises like Russia's invasion of Ukraine without relying on the US.
He urged Europe to be more in charge of its own destiny, saying that in the past it has been too dependent on Russia for energy and Washington for security.
"We have to build this strategic concept of a credible European defense for ourselves," Macron said, adding that Europe cannot be a "vassal" of the United States.
He said that he will ask European partners for proposals in the coming months and added that Europe also needs its own capacities in cyber defense and cyber security.
After Brexit and the departure of the former German chancellor, Angela Merkel, many see Macron as the leading European leader. But the French president's popularity is on the decline, with his centrist party trailing far-right parties in polls ahead of June's European Parliament elections.
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