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Europe must resist pressure to become ‘America’s followers,’ says Macron
politico.eu ^ | April 9, 2023 | Jamil Anderlini and Clea Caulcutt

Posted on 04/10/2023 8:43:27 AM PDT by elpadre

ABOARD COTAM UNITÉ (FRANCE’S AIR FORCE ONE) — Europe must reduce its dependency on the United States and avoid getting dragged into a confrontation between China and the U.S. over Taiwan, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview on his plane back from a three-day state visit to China.

Speaking with POLITICO and two French journalists after spending around six hours with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip, Macron emphasized his pet theory of “strategic autonomy” for Europe, presumably led by France, to become a “third superpower.”

He said “the great risk” Europe faces is that it “gets caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevents it from building its strategic autonomy,” while flying from Beijing to Guangzhou, in southern China, aboard COTAM Unité, France’s Air Force One.

Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party have enthusiastically endorsed Macron’s concept of strategic autonomy and Chinese officials constantly refer to it in their dealings with European countries. Party leaders and theorists in Beijing are convinced the West is in decline and China is on the ascendant and that weakening the transatlantic relationship will help accelerate this trend.

“The paradox would be that, overcome with panic, we believe we are just America’s followers,” Macron said in the interview. “The question Europeans need to answer … is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction,” he said.

Just hours after his flight left Guangzhou headed back to Paris, China launched large military exercises around the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory but the U.S. has promised to arm and defend.

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.eu ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: ccp; china; chinesedrones; crimea; emmanuelmacron; europeanunion; france; paris; russia; taiwan; ukraine
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To: All

Fine with me. Let France take care of France.


21 posted on 04/10/2023 9:36:11 AM PDT by escapefromboston (Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.)
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During the China visit, Ursula lectured China and warned Xi he should call Zelenskyy. China then proceeded to fed her cold tea, lukewarm Wuhan Bat soup, and undercooked pangolin with a side order of chicken gizzards. Then they sent her home through a “normal people gate with passport controls and queues”

God bless Chairman Xi for seeing thru this globalist crap.

22 posted on 04/10/2023 9:36:21 AM PDT by JonPreston
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To: Wuli
He seems to be trying a play the same spoiler card France has played vis a vis the U.S. since the end of WWII - acting as a major power which they are not.

During the press conference Macron said that the "personal time Xi is devoting to the visit shows that France is not considered to be a country like any other."
23 posted on 04/10/2023 10:03:17 AM PDT by Chad_the_Impaler
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To: elpadre

Next time France needs help, we need to tell them to F off. Of course, at the same time I don’t blame them when the US is being led by a demented perv with a woke and failing military.


24 posted on 04/10/2023 10:37:48 AM PDT by falcon99 ( )
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To: elpadre

Macron is just another Vichy French who enjoys sex with corpses (his wife is 140 years old).


25 posted on 04/10/2023 10:39:36 AM PDT by Flavious_Maximus (Tony Fauci will be put on death row and die of COVID!)
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To: elpadre

Sounds good for both sides!


26 posted on 04/10/2023 11:03:18 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Trump!: “They’re not after me! They’re after you I’m just in the way!)
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To: BenLurkin
Thanks for posting this reality:

The Euros are not our friends.

Never have been!

Just use and abuse us over and over again while happily slurping at the Americans tax-payers' teats courtesy of Uncle Sucker.

27 posted on 04/10/2023 11:06:36 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Trump!: “They’re not after me! They’re after you I’m just in the way!)
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To: datura

Not even sure the Brits would help these days.

Define Brit in today’s world!:


28 posted on 04/10/2023 11:11:37 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Trump!: “They’re not after me! They’re after you I’m just in the way!)
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To: Mariner
A neocon zealot, just 2 days ago, said we needed NATO to take on China.

Oh, sure!

NATO's really worked well for us in Ukraine. Right?

29 posted on 04/10/2023 11:29:35 AM PDT by icclearly
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To: Grampa Dave

“...Just use and abuse us over and over...”

Good point. But it is also true that the EU countries have really not found it necessary to beg for help since WWII. The US foreign policy has been to give without being asked, sometimes support not needed. Our US defense industry wanted to push their product and our government did just that. The reason they weren’t paying their fair share to support NATO is because the US didn’t expect them too - until Donald Trump came on the scene.


30 posted on 04/10/2023 11:46:56 AM PDT by elpadre (nd )
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To: elpadre
Thanks for posting this reality:

"It is also true that the EU countries have really not found it necessary to beg for help since WWII. The US foreign policy has been to give without being asked, sometimes support not needed. Our US defense industry wanted to push their product and our government did just that. The reason they weren’t paying their fair share to support NATO is because the US didn’t expect them too - until Donald Trump came on the scene."

31 posted on 04/10/2023 12:03:22 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (Trump!: “They’re not after me! They’re after you I’m just in the way!)
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To: gundog

Why should France join NATO when they are surrounded and protected by NATO countries anyway?
MFGA


32 posted on 04/10/2023 12:59:44 PM PDT by 353FMG (Secretly practicing my Putin swagger..)
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To: Flavious_Maximus

Macron resembles a French Trump while the US never fully appreciated DJT.


33 posted on 04/10/2023 1:06:46 PM PDT by 353FMG (Secretly practicing my Putin swagger..)
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To: elpadre

The stupid European Colonists rebelling against their King, Ha, blow up some more pipelines!


34 posted on 04/10/2023 1:09:49 PM PDT by norsky ( <P> <a href= > <hi/a> <P><img src=" "width=500"></img>)
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To: MeganC

Why should they when they are surrounded and protected by NATO members and have their own nukes?
Macron is a smart Frenchman who would be a good POTUS. He knows how to MFGA. He is no Biden.


35 posted on 04/10/2023 1:13:35 PM PDT by 353FMG (Secretly practicing my Putin swagger..)
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To: 353FMG

France is a charter member of NATO.


36 posted on 04/10/2023 2:26:32 PM PDT by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: gundog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bk_OPWAMm0


37 posted on 04/10/2023 2:51:58 PM PDT by 353FMG (Secretly practicing my Putin swagger..)
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