President Emmanuel Macron has declared that nationalism must “never” take hold in France as he seeks to institute further European integration in his final year in office.
Faced with the prospect of his political legacy being washed away by the growing populist movement in Europe, which may see Marine Le Pen and her National Rally come to power in Paris next year, President Macron attempted to lay out an argument for the pan-European globalist governance his administration has represented since 2017.
Speaking before the French defence establishment in his annual address at the Hôtel de Brienne — the 18th century building previously used by Charles de Gaulle as his office during the Second World War and which currently stands as the official residence of the minister of defence — Macron attempted to embody a muscular visage for his neo-liberal agenda.
In his address, the French President boasted that under his government, the budget for the nation’s armed forces has doubled over the past 10 years to 64 billion euros ($73.4 bn) annually. However, much of these spending increases came amid pressure from the Trump administration in the United States on NATO allies in Europe to step up defence spending.
Regardless, Macron appeared to set himself once again against the international Trumpian movement, which has long argued that governments’ principal responsibility is to put their people “first”. This, the French leader suggested, was akin to the motivations of Nazi Germany.
“Wherever nationalism is pandered to, in France or elsewhere, there is a misunderstanding of our own history. Patriotism, yes; nationalism, never,” he said.
“And at a time when Europe is rearming, to think that each of us separately accumulating capabilities is the direction of history is absurd. We must build as Europeans and preserve our own specificities, our decision-making processes, our intervention forces, our credibility. But let’s not allow history to repeat itself,” Macron warned.
“Europe is becoming a power built upon its constituent states, respectful of their sovereign decisions, but committed to defending itself and acting together—a Europe that will not be defined by the nationalisms that have long consumed it, but which, by uniting the patriotisms of its members and acting in unity, makes us all stronger,” he added.
The comments from the outgoing leader are reminiscent of the sentiments he expressed in his 2018 Armistice Day address at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. In an apparent attempt to differentiate himself from President Donald Trump, who was in attendance for the speech, Macron argued: “Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By putting our own interests first, with no regard for others, we erase the very thing that a nation holds dearest, and the thing that keeps it alive: its moral values.”
However, it appears that Macron is on the cusp of losing that argument within his own country, with polls indicating that his centrist bloc, represented by the likes of former Prime Minister Gabriel Atall or Mayor of Le Havre Eduoard Phillipe, are both projected to fall to veteran populist campaigner Marine Le Pen.
With Macron prohibited from running in the next presidential election due to term limits, he appears intent on further entangling the French military with others across Europe, in what some have suggested may serve as the formation of a fully fledged EU Army.
Following the outbreak of war with Iran — and with it the revelation that Tehran has missiles capable of striking Europe — Macron began to lobby fellow EU member states over the expansion of the French nuclear umbrella, and to forward deploy French nuclear warheads so as to act as a deterrence for the entirety of the bloc.
So far, nine countries have signed up for Macron’s scheme, including Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, a fellow nuclear power. Questions remain about the agreement, however, given that France would have the final say on the use of any nuclear weapons stationed across Europe, regardless of whether it was targeted or not.
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