Macron: Europe Can No Longer Rely on the United States for Security or Economic Stability

When France’s president publicly categorizes America alongside authoritarian regimes as a threat vector, that’s not rhetorical posturing. That’s European strategic doctrine being rewritten in real time.

Emmanuel Macron just declared that Europe can no longer rely on the United States for security or economic stability. He told European newspapers that “the world market is increasingly wary of the American greenback” and that the U.S. is “drifting further and further away from the rule of law.” This isn’t diplomatic criticism. This is France’s president publicly stating that American institutional credibility has collapsed to the point where Europe must build alternatives.

The pattern here is categorical: Europe’s largest economy partners are systematically decoupling from American-led frameworks because they’ve concluded that dependence on U.S. systems creates unacceptable strategic vulnerability.

Europe’s “Wake-Up Call”

Macron told a group of European newspapers that Europe faces a “wake-up call” in the face of growing threats from China, Russia, and now the United States. He explicitly listed America alongside authoritarian regimes as a threat vector. When the President of France publicly categorizes the United States as a source of instability equivalent to Russia and China, that’s not rhetorical posturing. That’s European strategic doctrine being rewritten in real time.

The statement came as part of interviews published Tuesday in major European outlets, just days before an EU summit focused on competitiveness and strategic autonomy. Macron’s framing is explicit: the U.S., “which was once thought would guarantee our security forever, now casts doubt,” according to TRT World’s reporting on his interviews.

The €1.2 Trillion Alternative to American Systems

The financial mechanism Macron proposes is explicit. “The global market is increasingly afraid of the American currency and is looking for alternatives,” Macron told Le Monde and other European papers, as reported by TASS. He’s calling for eurobonds—EU-wide shared debt instruments that would create a European alternative to U.S. Treasury bonds.

According to Macron, the 27-member EU needs €1.2 trillion per year to invest in security and defence, clean energy, and artificial intelligence, reports Voice of Vienna. Here’s what makes this significant: €1.2 trillion annually is approximately the size of Australia’s entire GDP. Macron is proposing that Europe create financing capacity equivalent to a G20 economy specifically to reduce dependence on American systems.

This isn’t incremental reform. This is Europe building parallel infrastructure at scale.

The Institutional Critique: America No Longer Qualifies as Rule-of-Law

The institutional critique is direct and unprecedented from a G7 ally. Macron stated: “For investors everywhere, a democratic state governed by the rule of law is an enormous draw. When I look at the world as it stands, we see China, an authoritarian regime. On the other hand, we see the US, which is drifting further and further away from the rule of law.”

The President of France just told global investors that America no longer qualifies as a reliable rule-of-law jurisdiction. When you work in finance long enough, you learn that this kind of statement from a G7 leader has market implications. Macron is signaling to sovereign wealth funds, pension managers, and central banks that European debt instruments will be positioned as the “democratic rule-of-law” alternative to both Chinese authoritarianism and American institutional volatility.

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The “Greenland Moment” and Cyclical American Instability

The Greenland context provides critical framing. Macron warned Europeans not to believe that Trump backing down from Greenland threats means the crisis is over, according to Al Jazeera’s reporting. He described a pattern: “There are threats and intimidation, and then suddenly Washington gives way. And people think it’s over.”

Macron is teaching European policymakers to interpret American behavior as cyclically unstable rather than strategically coherent. The implication is clear: even when specific crises de-escalate, the underlying institutional volatility remains. Therefore, Europe must build systems that function independently of American predictability.

Macron described the current moment as a “Greenland moment”—a wake-up call that should push Europe to accelerate long-delayed economic reforms regardless of whether individual Trump threats are walked back.

Defence Independence: American Security Guarantees Are No Longer Reliable

The defence implications are massive. Macron is explicitly arguing that Europe can no longer assume American security guarantees are permanent. When France states that American defence commitments are unreliable, that’s not a complaint. That’s a justification for building independent European military capacity.

The €1.2 trillion annual investment Macron is proposing would fund European defence infrastructure, AI development, and clean energy—all sectors where Europe currently relies on American technology or security frameworks. This is systematic strategic autonomy across every dimension of state power.

According to TRT World’s reporting, Macron warned that “in security and defense, in ecological transition technologies, and in artificial intelligence and quantum technologies, we are investing far less than China and the United States.” He stated that if the EU doesn’t act within three to five years, “it will be pushed out of these sectors.”

Creating AAA-Rated Competition to U.S. Treasuries

The economic positioning is sophisticated. Macron argued that “the EU is under-indebted compared with the United States and China. In a moment of a technological investment race, failing to use this borrowing capacity is a profound mistake,” according to The Business Standard’s coverage.

If Macron succeeds in creating eurobonds backed by the full EU, that creates a AAA-rated sovereign debt instrument with a larger economic base than many expect. The EU’s combined GDP is approximately $18 trillion versus America’s $28 trillion, but EU population is 450 million versus America’s 335 million. European debt instruments would offer comparable scale with what Macron is positioning as superior rule-of-law stability.

Reuters reports that Macron told several papers, including Le Monde, that Europe should “launch a common borrowing capacity for these future expenditures, future-oriented eurobonds.”

“European Preference” and the End of Market Access

The competitive framing includes explicit industrial policy. Macron stated: “The Chinese do it, the Americans too. Europe today is the most open market in the world.” He’s calling for “European preference”—industrial policy that prioritizes European content in manufacturing.

This directly challenges American and Chinese market access. If Europe implements domestic content requirements equivalent to what America and China already have, that shifts trillions in procurement spending toward European suppliers. American exporters would lose preferential access to a market larger than the United States.

According to TRT World, Macron argued that Europe needs to protect its industry as China and the US do, focusing on strategic sectors including “clean technologies, chemicals, steel, automotive, and defence.”

Germany’s Resistance and the Timeline for Implementation

The institutional mechanics matter. As reported by Hazard Herald, eurobonds were once considered taboo in Europe because of opposition from “frugal states like Germany and the Netherlands.” The EU used joint debt in 2020 for COVID recovery, but making it permanent has faced German resistance.

Here’s the pattern: Macron is using Trump’s institutional volatility as political cover to push through reforms that Germany and northern European countries have historically resisted. Shared European debt has been politically impossible for decades. Now Macron is framing it as an existential security requirement because America can’t be trusted.

Macron warned that “if the EU does not act within three to five years, it will be pushed out of these sectors,” according to Pravda USA’s coverage. That’s not hyperbole for domestic consumption. That’s a French president telling European finance ministers they have a five-year window to build independent capacity before geopolitical fractures make it impossible.

Market Implications: Decoupling From Dollar-Denominated Assets

The financial market implications are substantial. TASS reports that Macron described eurobonds as “an unprecedented opportunity that would also help overcome the dollar’s hegemony.”

When central banks and sovereign wealth funds see a G7 leader publicly positioning European debt as the rule-of-law alternative to U.S. Treasuries, they begin adjusting portfolio allocations. The signal to global capital is explicit: European institutions are building alternatives because they’ve concluded American institutional stability is no longer reliable.

According to Voice of Vienna, Macron “argued that global financial markets are increasingly uneasy about overreliance on the US dollar and are seeking alternative stable assets.”

What Happens Next

Macron will push this agenda at the EU summit. The question is whether Germany agrees to shared debt or whether France proceeds with a coalition of southern European countries. Either way, the direction is set: Europe is building capacity to function as an independent pole of power specifically because it no longer trusts American institutions.

Here’s my prediction: by 2028, the EU launches eurobonds worth at least €500 billion annually, European defence spending increases by 40%, and American influence over European economic policy drops below Cold War levels. The pattern we’re watching is not “European protectionism.” It’s European institutions concluding that American volatility has made continued dependence strategically untenable.

Al Jazeera reports that Macron’s second term expires in early 2027, suggesting urgency in his push for these reforms before leaving office.

The financial decoupling we’re witnessing isn’t hypothetical. It’s systematic, well-funded, and driven by European leaders who have concluded that American institutional credibility has collapsed beyond the point where continued dependence is strategically viable.

Sources

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