“My friend, we are totally in line on Syria. We can do great things on Iran. I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland.”Ā This message from French President Emmanuel Macron to US President Donald Trump were intended to remain confidential, butĀ Donald Trump published the short message on his Truth Social network on Tuesday night. “He will soon be leaving office,”Ā the US president went on to jokeĀ about Macron in front of reporters.
Just as Emmanuel Macron is trying to keep the dialogue going, TrumpĀ publicly embarrasses the president. Trump regularly imitates Macron’s accent in public appearances.
The rift is also likely deepening afterĀ a documentary that aired on France 2 on Tuesday evening. It shows a private phone call during Macron’s visit to Kyiv on May 10, 2025, apparently without TrumpĀ knowing that it was being filmed.
Macron countered Trump’s attacks on Tuesday with irony. “It’s a time of peace, stability and predictability,”Ā said the French president at the start of the World Economic ForumĀ in Davos, prompting laughter from the audience.
But the tone of his speech quickly changed: the president painted a picture of a world without rules and a Europe that must reassert itself. Accepting a “new colonial approach”Ā makes no sense, he said. For the Frenchman, Trump’s grab for Greenland is a prime example of this emerging power politics.
Sending military signals to allies
Just a few days earlier, several European NATO partners, including France as one of the first and most visible, reacted to the Trump’s aggressive statements about wanting to control Greenland. At Denmark’s invitation, Paris sent around 15 mountain troops to the Greenlandic capital Nuuk. This was followedĀ by an air-to-air refueling maneuver over Arctic territory.
At the same time, Paris is pushing ahead with a plan, in preparation since 2025, to open a consulate general in Nuuk. France’s presence in the region is a direct response to Trump’s increasingly blunt comments.
The tone of French foreign policy is also toughening in keeping with Washington’s rhetoric. In his New Year’s address to the armed forces at the air base in Istres at the end of last week, Macron used bellicose words: “To remain free, one must be feared, and to be feared, one must be powerful.” The president announced the deployment of additional land, air, and naval forces to Greenland, but has not yet provided details.
A handshake and a charm offensive
When Trump welcomed the newly electedĀ Macron to the White House for the first time in May 2017, the Frenchman staged a show of strength. Macron, then a political newcomer, withstood Trump’s notoriously dominant handshake for almost a minute.
The message was clear: France’s leader will not be intimidated by a US president who confuses respect with dominance. He sought an equal footing rather than subordination. In Paris, people were convinced that Trump would only respond to “strength.”
At the same time, Macron was counting on Trump’s vanity and susceptibility to flattery. He invited him as a guest of honor to his first national holiday in Paris on July 14, including dinner at the Eiffel Tower. This was clearlyĀ symbolic: despite differences, France wants to maintain close ties with its ally. Macron relied on diplomatic hospitality to try toĀ persuade Trump to cooperate internationallyĀ ā€” with France as a bridge builder.
Strong words against nationalism
Macron, however, was unable to secure a lasting change of course in Washington. Relations between the two heads of state deteriorated. On November 11, 2018, on the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, Macron spoke in Trump’s presence about the dangers of nationalism. The US president took this as a thinly veiled criticism of his “America First” strategy.
Macron caused an international stir in 2019 with his comment that NATO was “brain dead.” This statement, made in an interview, was directed less at the alliance itself than at Trump’s antagonistic attitude towards the organization. France wanted to force a debate: How long can Europe rely on a partner who openly questions his obligations? Today, those words, which were heavily criticized at the time, can also be read as a forewarning of the current crisis.
Crunch time for Greenland?
There was no honeymoon period for Macron and Trump after the latter’s re-election to the White House a year ago. By spring 2025, the tone in transatlantic relations had already grown more hostile. France became the target of Trump’s tariff policy after Macron once again pushed for a coordinated European digital tax. Trump initially threatened punitive tariffs on French wine and luxury goods, before later targeting other European products as well.
France and the EU responded sharply and prepared countermeasures. Paris insisted that Europe should not rely solely on appeals and negotiations, but should also resort to tough trade policy instruments in serious cases. Macron stated at the time that Europe would not allow itself to be dictated to on how it exercises its tax sovereignty.
In Davos on Tuesday, the president referred to the EU’s anti-coercion instrument against economic blackmail, which allows for countermeasures such as tariffs or market access restrictions. In the political debate, it is known as the “bazooka.”
Macron’s weakness at home
Macron’s show of strength in foreign policy contrasts sharply with his position in France. Domestically, the president has little room for maneuver. His government is yet to get the 2026 budget through parliament. In Europe, too, Macron still needs to secure majorities for his course of action.
While Macron wants to load the European “bazooka,” Berlin is holding back. Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a staunch transatlanticist, is focusing on de-escalation in the Greenland crisis. Where Macron speaks of “economic blackmail”Ā and demands tariffs, the chancellor urges “prudence”Ā and hopes to bring Trump back from the diplomatic cliff edge through negotiations. Once again, Berlin and Paris are wrestling for leadership in Europe.
Europe lacks a driving force
Even more so than during his first term in office, Macron’s initiatives are increasingly being rejected in Washington. His previous balance of dialogue and opposition is reaching its limits. For some time now, the question has been whether Europe can ever set the agenda again.
Jacob Ross, France expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), sees this as a structural problem with the European Trump strategy: “Emmanuel Macron always reacts to Trump.” Neither he nor other European heads of state and government have so far managed to set their own agenda that leads the way, he said. Instead, they are in the business of reacting to the latest provocations from Washington.
This article originally appeared in German.