French President Macron Criticizes US for Alienating Allies, Urges Stronger Global Governance

French President Emmanuel Macron has cautioned that the US under President Donald Trump is “slowly distancing itself” from its allies and detaching itself from the international regulations it had previously been a strong supporter of. During his yearly address to French ambassadors on January 8, 2026, at the Élysée Palace, Macron emphasized the importance of stronger global governance amidst changing power dynamics.​

Criticism of US Foreign Policy

Macron cited the US’s recent maneuvers as the special forces capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who were flown to New York, as an example of international law being violated. He also mentioned Trump’s constant threats to take over Greenland, a territory of Denmark, which has caused panic among NATO allies like Denmark. “The United States is a major power, but is gradually distancing itself from some of its allies,” said Macron. At the same time, he also referred to “new colonialism and new imperialism” being repudiated.​

Call for European Autonomy

The French president lashed out at the United Nations for being one of the multilateral institutions that were gradually weakened. At the same time, he mentioned that the US withdrawal from world organizations and taking the position of the “biggest shareholder” who “no longer believes in it” is the biggest loss for the UN. He called for Europe to link tech legislation like the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA), therefore keeping US and Chinese influences at bay. Macron condemned China’s “increasingly unrestrained commercial aggressiveness” and also pointed to Russia’s undermining of stability in the case of Ukraine.​

Urging Diplomatic Action

“We live in a world of great powers with a real temptation to share the world,” Macron said, thus inviting the diplomats to take action and be dependable rather than just observing. Although he acknowledged the US participating in the Paris ceasefire negotiations, he called for the UN Global governance to be re-invested in fear of Greenland invasions or Canada annexation threats.