Donald Trump’s return and the shock caused by Washington’s U-turn on Ukraine have revived Emmanuel Macron’s leadership — almost as if he had forgotten the instability on the national scene. France has entered “a new era,” said the French president during a recent televised speech to the nation calling for rearmament but also for the population to take a stand faced with international threats. ”It’s a quarter before midnight, but we still have the touch,” Macron recently warned.
For several weeks, the president’s entourage has been reminding the press that Macron has long backed stronger European defense and a European sovereignty that stands independent of all other powers. Macron had already emphasized these ideas in his symbolic “Sorbonne speeches” when he presented his vision of Europe after first coming to power in 2017. Since Trump’s Oval Office clash with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, his advisers no longer even need to stress the importance of this talking point.
Amid international disorder in which US military commitments seem to be waning, European states are trying to find new ways to continue supporting Ukraine. More and more politicians want to use the €210 billion of frozen assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to finance military aid to Ukraine. A resolution to this effect was adopted by the French National Assembly but continues to divide Macron’s camp, with some fearing that this threatens Europe’s financial stability. Economists have pointed out that seizing sovereign assets of third countries in euros risks discouraging them from holding reserves in euros. This could trigger a sale of euro-denominated bonds, which would raise their interest rates and depreciate the…
Auteur: Romain Chauvet
